Understanding Suicide

Why do People Attempt Suicide:
Escaping the Flames

The main thing that most people who kill themselves have in common is a belief that suicide is the ONLY solution to their unbearable situation. Many of us have etched in our memories the images of people jumping out of the World Trade Center on 9/11. These people did not want to die. They were leaping to get away from the flames at their back. In a similar manner, people who contemplate suicide are trying to escape some type of peril in their own lives. It is difficult for many of us to truly appreciate the flames that consume the minds of people who contemplate suicide. The unbearable psychological pain often blocks the ability to see other potential solutions to problems. A pervasive sense of hopelessness stifles the ability to seek help, and yet most people are very ambivalent about taking their lives - they don't want death, they just want the pain to stop.

SUICIDE FACTS

Fact: Suicide happens much more often than most people are aware. For every 2 homicides there are three suicides, and yet with the media coverage for homicide, you'd expect the reverse to be true. In many areas there are more deaths from suicide than there are to motor vehicle crashes. Tremendous amounts of money are put toward road care, safe driver enforcement, and vehicle safety, and yet very little is dedicated to suicide awareness, prevention and intervention.

Fact: Bringing up the subject of suicide and discussing it openly is one of the most helpful things you can do because it relieves the suicidal person of the incredible sense of isolation they experience and relays that someone has insight to their pain and cares about their well-being.

Fact: Almost all people who eventually die by suicide have given some clue or warning. When suicidal threats are not taken seriously, the person may conclude that no one cares.

Fact: Most suicidal people are ambivalent, wavering until the very last moment between wanting to live and wanting to die. For example, people in a suicidal crisis frequently call for help immediately following a suicide attempt. The impulse to end it all, however overpowering, does not last forever. Suicide is preventable.

Fact: There are almost always warning signs, but others are often unaware of their significance or do not know what to do.

Fact: Studies of suicide victims have shown that more than half had sought medical help within six months before their deaths.

References: NAMI, Yellow Ribbon