Suicide Prevention Info

Sui­cide Facts | Suicide Statistics | Risk Fac­tors | Warn­ing Signs | Pro­tec­tive Factors | How to Talk to Some­one Who May Be At Risk | Where to get help

Suicide Facts

  • Talking about suicide WILL NOT put the idea into someone’s mind. The truth is most people will be relieved that someone has noticed their pain and are willing to help.
  • 90% of people who die by suicide have an underlying mental health/substance abuse issue.
  • People who die by suicide generally DO warn others. Knowing the risk factors and warning signs and talking with the person is a major factor in preventing suicide.
  • People who talk about suicide MAY be trying to get attention in order to get help. They should be taken seriously. It may be the only way they know how to ask for help.
  • If a person attempts suicide, it IS likely they will try again.
  • Once a person’s emotional state improves, the risk of suicide IS NOT necessarily over. It may mean that they have made the decision to die by suicide and are feeling relieved at their decision.
  • Most people who think about suicide ARE AMBIVALENT right up until the end. Most people don’t want to die; they want the pain to stop.
  • Most suicides ARE preventable. There are effective treatments for mental health and substance abuse problems.
  • Most suicides occur during the SPRING months, not the holidays.
  • About 20% of all suicide deaths are veterans.
  • Suicide is the 1oth leading cause of death in the U.S.

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Suicide Statistics

  • There were about 38,364 reported sui­cide deaths in 2010. (In 2011, there were 553  suicide deaths in Mass.)
  • One per­son dies by sui­cide every 14 min­utes in the U.S.
  • It is esti­mated that more the 950,000 peo­ple attempt sui­cide every year in the U.S.
  • Guns are the lead­ing means of sui­cide death in the U.S. (suf­fo­ca­tion in Mass.)
  • Men die by sui­cide 4 times more often than women.
  • Women attempt sui­cide more often than men.
  • Sui­cide is the 3rd lead­ing cause of death for youth ages 15–24.
  • In Mass. peo­ple die by sui­cide nearly 3 times more often than by homicide.  
  • For every sui­cide death, it is esti­mated that there are at least 6 survivors.
  • Based on 2010 U. S. data, mid­dle aged peo­ple (45–54) have the high­est rate of sui­cide (19.6). Peo­ple age 65 and up have a rate of 14.9.

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Risk Factors

These are influences that make it more likely that individuals may be at an increased risk of a suicidal crisis. These are meant to give insight into what may cause an increase in the level of suicide risk. It DOES NOT mean that if you have some of these signs, you will take your life. Suicide risk takes into account many factors and needs to be continually assessed by a professional. Please remember that multiple factors combine to lead to a suicidal crisis and may include some of the following:

  • Mental health issues/substance abuse problems
  • Being male
  • Family history and/or exposure to suicide or mental health issues
  • Abuse (physical, drug, domestic)
  • Losses (family, friends, work, financial, etc.)
  • Being widowed, divorced or a suicide survivor
  • Aggressive or impulsive behavior
  • Lack of support structures
  • Poor help-seeking skills
  • Access to means
  • Difficulties in dealing with sexual orientation
  • Physical illness
  • Family disruptions (divorce or problems with the law)
  • Traumatic event
  • Cultural beliefs

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Warning Signs

  • Hope­less­ness, helplessness
  • Pre­oc­cu­pa­tion with death or suicide
  • With­drawal from fam­ily, friends, sports, social activities
  • Dras­tic changes in behavior
  • Depression/Anxiety
  • Giv­ing away possessions
  • Tak­ing unnec­es­sary risks
  • Increased use of alco­hol or drugs
  • Lack of energy
  • Unable to think clearly, can’t make deci­sions, can’t see a future with­out pain
  • Loss of inter­est in work, school, hob­bies, social activities
  • Declin­ing school performance/increased absences from school
  • Changes in appetite, sleep­ing habits, per­sonal appearance
  • Sud­den cheer­ful­ness after a period of depression
  • Recur­ring themes of death or self-destruction in writ­ing assign­ments or art projects
  • Peer pres­sure, bul­ly­ing, inter­net bullying
  • Finan­cial worries
  • Self-imposed wor­ries and stress about suc­ceed­ing in school, sports, work

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Pro­tec­tive Factors

Pro­tec­tive fac­tors are those per­sonal, famil­ial and inter­per­sonal fac­tors that con­tribute to a per­son’s abil­ity to cope with life. Pro­tec­tive fac­tors should be con­sid­ered in assess­ing a person’s risk of suicide.

  • Sense of humor
  • Sup­port net­work (fam­ily, friends, coaches, teach­ers, clergy)
  • Good prob­lem solv­ing skills
  • Abil­ity to express emo­tions and ask for help
  • Faith
  • Sense of hope and optimism
  • “Sur­vivor” mentality
  • Good nutri­tion and reg­u­lar exercise
  • Sense of achievements/success/esteem/being needed
  • Con­nect­ed­ness to fam­ily, com­mu­nity, church
  • Being flexible
  • Sense of purpose
  • Hav­ing access to and knowl­edge of resources for help
  • Cul­tural beliefs

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How To Talk With Some­one Who May Be At Risk of Suicide

If you know some­one who might be think­ing of sui­cide, you can help them by lis­ten­ing. Very often peo­ple who think about sui­cide feel like they have no other options, like they have no con­trol over their lives, and that no one cares about them. Keep in mind that talk­ing with them about sui­cide will NOT put the idea into their minds. Often times, it is a great relief to some­one that you have noticed that they are in pain and are will­ing to help.

  • If the per­son is in immi­nent risk of hurt­ing them­selves, do not leave them alone. Call for help or 911.
  • If this is not at a cri­sis stage, offer to sit and talk with the per­son and give them your full attention
  • Tell them that you care, there is hope, and that you are will­ing to help them
  • If the sub­ject of sui­cide is hard to bring up, ask the ques­tion a lit­tle dif­fer­ently. For exam­ple, you could say “Do you some­times feel so bad that you think of killing yourself?”
  • Help­ing them real­ize that there are options other than sui­cide and that they do have some con­trol over their lives may help them real­ize that sui­cide is not the only option.
  • Try not to be judg­men­tal, give advice, min­i­mize their feel­ings, or solve their prob­lems. You should never try to help a sui­ci­dal per­son by your­self. They need a lot of atten­tion, sup­port and a pro­fes­sional assessment.
  • Do not agree to keep this a secret. This is a mat­ter of life or death and you need to be able to get the per­son help.

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Where To Get Help (If this is an emergency, call 911.)

  • A coun­selor, ther­a­pist, or men­tal health clinic
  • A fam­ily mem­ber or friend
  • A teacher, guid­ance coun­selor, or coach
  • Fam­ily doctor
  • Clergy
  • An emer­gency room
  • Cri­sis help lines
  • Samar­i­tans Statewide num­ber – 1–877-870‑4673
  • National Sui­cide Pre­ven­tion Life Line – 1–800-273 – TALK (8255), dial 1 for veterans and veterans’ families

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