Health
suicide
10 warning signs
In a time when suicide has become a culture
in society, it is important to be able to
recognize the warning signs. Suicide is one
of the leading causes of death in people aged
15 – 24 with young males four times more likely
to succeed due to the lethal ways in which they
choose to kill themselves.
1. previous suicide
attempts
Previous suicide attempts are the biggest risk
factor of a person successfully completing
suicide. The more attempts the person makes,
the more likely that he or she will eventually die
by suicide. Often people say that people who
attempt suicide are only looking for attention.
This may be true but it is also true to say that
the person is obviously in a state of pain and
needs help and understanding. The reality is that
suicidal behavior is usually a last resort when the
person feels that all else has failed. Normally, they
are trying to resolve their inner pain rather than
trying to manipulate those around them.
2. recent suicide of a
friend or relative
Sometimes, when a close friend or relative dies
by suicide, others adopt a copy-cat attitude
and follow the deceased person’s lead. It is not
uncommon for suicide of a friend or relative to
trigger attempts by friends or others.
3. threats of suicide
Many believe that people who talk about suicide
won’t actually do it. The reality is that, in the
majority of cases, people have spoken of their
intent before killing themselves. Often it may
have been a single statement such as “Life’s not
worth living” or “I wish I were dead.” Sometimes
the person is preoccupied with death through a
genre like music, art, or poetry.
Talking about suicide or exhibiting unusual
interest in death through other themes generally
means that the person is considering suicide as
an option and that they really need and want
some help.
4. depression
A lot of people use the word ‘depression’ to
describe feelings of sadness and loss. These
feelings often pass within a few hours or a few
days. During this time, people are able to carry
on much as usual. However, if you feel sad much
more intensely and for longer and your feelings
start to interfere with your work, social life and
family life, you may need to seek professional
advice. There are a number of symptoms of
depression and it’s very rare for all symptoms
to occur in one person all at once. You might
feel it come on slowly, from sometimes feeling
blue to deeper feelings more often. It is hard
to accept that symptoms like sleeping badly
or feeling worthless are depression. After all,
“Suicide is one of the leading causes
of death in people aged 15 – 24...”
12 WomanToWomanMagazine.com
/WomanToWomanMagazine.com
