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What do you think of these facts?
FACTS ABOUT SUICIDE
* Worldwide there are more deaths due to suicide than to accidents, homicides and war combined.
* About 30,000 people in the United States die by suicide every year.
* Currently, suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S.
* Every day, approximately 80 Americans takes their own life, and 1,500 more attempt to do so.
* A person dies by suicide about every 18 minutes in the U.S. An attempt is estimated to be made once every minute.
* In the U.S. in 2001, the suicide rate among women was 4.1 per 100,000, while for men it was 17.6 per 100,000.
* There are more than four male suicides for every female suicide, but twice as many females as males attempt suicide.
* Firearms are the most frequent method of suicide among adults in the United States.
* Over ninety percent of people who die by suicide had at least one psychiatric illness at the time of death. The most common diagnoses are depression and drug and/or alcohol abuse.
* Alcoholism is a factor in about 30 percent of all suicide deaths.
* Early recognition and treatment of depression and other psychiatric illnesses appears to be the best way to prevent suicide.
* Certain personality disorders, such as borderline and antisocial personality disorders, appear to carry high risk for suicide. Impulsivity also appears to be a risk factor for suicide.
* Between 20 and 50 percent of people who kill themselves had previously attempted suicide. Although the majority of people who die by suicide have no made a previous attempt, a serious suicide attempt is a clear risk factor for suicide death.
* Suicidal individuals often talk about suicide directly or indirectly using statements like, "My family would be better off with out me." Sometimes they talk as if they are saying goodbye or going away, and may arrange to put their affairs in order. Other signs of contemplating suicide include giving away articles they value, paying off debts or changing a will.
FACTS ABOUT YOUTH SUICIDE
* Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students and the third leading cause of death among all youth 15 - 24 years old. In the U.S., only accidents and homicides claim more young lives.
* Nearly 4,000 people aged 15 - 24 die by suicide each year in the United States.
* Between the mid-1950s and the late 1970s, the suicide rate among U.S. males aged 15 - 24 more than tripled (from 6.3 per 100,000 in 1955 to 21.3 in 1977). Among females aged 15 - 24, the rate more than doubled during this period (from 2.0 to 5.2). The youth suicide rate generally leveled off during the 1980s and early 1990s and since the mid-1990s, it has been steadily decreasing.
* Among young people aged 15 - 24, males die by suicide almost six times more frequently than females. In 2001 (the latest year for which national rates are available) the suicide rate among young men was 16.5 per 100,000 and the rate among young women was 2.9.
* Youth suicide rates vary widely among different racial and ethnic groups. In 2001, white youth had a suicide rate of 11.5 per 100,000, compared to rates of 7.3 for African Americans, 6.1 for Hispanics, 6.4 for Asian Americans and 18.8 for American Indians and Alaskan Natives.
* Twenty percent of American high school students report having seriously considered suicide during the previous 12 months. Eight percent of high school students make a suicide attempt.
* Seventy percent of youth who make a suicide attempt are frequent users of alcohol and/or other drugs. In states where the minimum drinking age was raised from 18 to 21, the suicide rate for 18 to 20 year olds decreased.
* Over 90 percent of youth who die by suicide had at least one psychiatric illness at the time of death; in about half such cases, the psychiatric illness was present, although often unrecognized, for two years or more. The most common diagnoses among youth are depression, substance abuse and conduct disorders.
FACTS ABOUT DEPRESSION
* Depression affects more than 19 million American adults aged 18 and over each year, representing nearly 10 percent of American adults.
* More American adults suffer from depression than coronary heart disease (7 million), cancer (6 million) and AIDS (200,000) combined.
* About 15 percent of the population develops clinical depression at some time in their life. Depression will affect one in 10 men and one in four women.
* Symptoms of depression include:
* sadness or "down" mood
* loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities
* poor appetite or overeating
* trouble falling or staying asleep or sleeping too much
* feeling tired or having little energy
* feelings of worthlessness, self-reproach or guilt
* trouble concentrating
* moving or speaking very slowly, or the opposite, being fidgety or restless
* thoughts of being better off dead or of hurting oneself in some way
* Depression is among the most treatable of psychiatric illnesses. Current treatment includes medication, psychotherapy or some combination of the two.
* Fewer than half of all Americans consider depression to be a health problem and more than 2 in 5 believe it is a sign of personal weakness.
* Over 60 percent of people who die by suicide are estimated to suffer from major depression, with no other psychiatric or physical illness. Thirty percent have alcoholism, and half of those with alcoholism have depression as well.
* Certain intense emotional or affective states may suggest a suicide crisis in individuals who suffer from depression. These include intense desperation, hopelessness, rage, abandonment, self-hatred or anxiety.
* Almost two million Americans currently suffer from bipolar disorder (manic depressive illness), in which episodes of depression alternate or co-exist with periods of mania. This mood disorder carries a high risk of suicide.
* Approximately 20 percent of all patients with bipolar disorder have their first episode during adolescence.
I know this is a lot, but I think it's an extremely important topic and maybe in learning/understanding some of this it is quite possible you might be able to help save the life of your friend or a family member.
I have lost 2 family members (in the same family) in the last 8 years. My 17 yr old nephew just 2 1/2 weeks ago.
Wanted to post this in hopes that maybe something can be learned to possibly help others.....
ABSOLUTELY NOT! This is to try and educate people about the topic, to try and prevent further deaths.
Just wish the stigma of suicide could be lifted and maybe by further education it can be. Maybe if people took there heads out of the sand about this subject it might help those having these feelings feel more comfortable to come forth - instead of just to say an online chat room, but to actually friends, family, etc. that care about them!
6 Answers
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
are you thinking about commiting suicide?
- 1 decade ago
Those are very real facts. You are right that we need to get this out in the open and remove some of the stigma surrounding suicide. If we are able to talk about the topic more openly, then I believe that there would be fewer who aould commit suicide. Many people feel ashamed that they have had thoughts of killing themselves. If we could create an environment were people feel more comfortable about talking about it, then more people would most likely get help.
I know a little bit about what you are feeling. I lost a friend from High School several years ago and just this July I had another friend commit suicide. Both of them were males in their 20's at the time, both of them had alcohol problems, and both of them hung themselves, although they were from different towns and had never even met. The most recent one also had mental instabilty problems from childhood. The night before he was found, another friend of mine was over at his house and told me (just yesterday) that the man was not himself, like he was a totally different person (like someone, or something, had reached in his head and switched him off and now they were controling him) and he was violent. He was taken into custody so that he could be stablized (I'm assuming the psyc ward). They released him latter that night or early morning. He was found by the same friend the next morning, dead.
I am sorry for the detail, but it is still fresh with me, especially after talking with my other friend yesterday about it. It is helpful to talk about it.
Please know that, as a minister and one who is involved in suicide prevention/education, I am praying for you and your family as you go through this difficult time. It is not easy. Also, you might want to check around your community to see if they have a suicide prevention network group and get involved, if you are not already involved. The more of us there are working towards making the situation better, the better it will get. I will be getting this information you just stated to my local group as well.
God Bless.
Source(s): Experience - 1 decade ago
First off, I hope that you are not thinking of commiting suicide. Please reach out and talk to someone if you can.
Second, even more mind boggling...have you researched suicide among the elderly???
This past January, my 85 year old grandmother commited suicide by shooting herself in the face...I know what you must be thinking. "An 85 year old woman did that?" Yes. She had lived on her own as a single and very independant woman for over 40 years and had just found out some not so promising news about her health. Because of her independence, she had always said that she didn't want to be a burden on her family and have to live with a family member.
The hardest part about the whole thing was that my dad (her son) found her. What no one can seem to understand is why she did it the way that she did. She had been a nurse her entire life and would have known how to end it by way of medication if she chose to do so. So why didn't she?
We don't try to figure that out anymore as she did not leave a note either. After 85 years of living and she left no explanation of why she did what she did.
Some may call suicide selfish...I call it anything but that. You never know what goes on in some one's mind right before they decide to take themselves out of this world and in my opinion, it is not for anyone to judge.
TRUST ME. I know that may be hard for some to swallow, but it is what it is, and I feel that each of us are in control of our own destiny to a point.
Suicide is a touchy subject, kind of like politics, abortion, or religion. To each his own.
- HachiMachiLv 51 decade ago
Very sad. Hits close to home for me because when I was having a particularly bad bout of my depression, I contemplated suicide. Luckily, I had people who cared and got help from a professional. I feel bad because not everybody is as lucky as I was. Looking back, I see how ridiculous it was to feel that way, but seriously, at the time, when you are feeling so low and not like yourself, you feel it is a viable option. I wish that everybody who suffers like that can get help, but because so many people do commit suicide, it is obvious that they aren't getting the help they need.
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- Jr. is angryLv 71 decade ago
sorry to hear about your losses.
few people realize that suicide is not the act of a sane person. just look at the ways people kill themselves. one guy hit himself in the head with a hammer ,over and over, until he died. he beat himself to death.
you or i would have hit ourself's once, yelled something like "F..." ,dropped the hammer and go get some aspirin.
suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem,.
