Suicide
Suicidal Feelings
Unfortunately feelings of suicide have increased amongst young people over recent years. So much so that for young men between the ages of 15 and 24 it is now the second most common cause of death.
Suicidal feelings are frightening and produce powerful emotions.
Some people try to kill themselves because they really do want to end it all. Others attempt suicide because they can see no alternative way of sorting out their problems, although they may not actually want to die.
Some people attempt suicide as a form of self-harm. They don’t want to die but see it as a way of expressing their despair.
Suicidal feelings are complicated but, whatever the reasoning behind them, they always have the potential to be life threatening.
What makes people feel this way?
A suicide attempt often takes place when people have been under constant pressure as a result of numerous difficulties in their lives.
This can make people feel powerless and that their life is out of control. Death might come to seem like the only thing they can have control over.
A personal crisis can lead to depression as well as drug and alcohol misuse. These are all strong indicators that someone might be at risk of having suicidal thoughts.
Personal relationship breakdown can be another trigger, particularly for men where the suicide rate is three times higher amongst the single, divorced or widowed, than for married men. Male suicide rates have also been linked to rises in unemployment.
In young people, a suicide attempt may be the result of an impulsive act when a sudden crisis makes everything get on top of them. Feelings of hopelessness and low self-esteem are strongly connected to suicidal behaviour.
It is also common for someone who is thinking of killing themselves to talk about ending it all. These threats should always be taken seriously. It’s a myth that people who talk about suicide don’t do it.
It will help if the person is encouraged to talk about their suicidal feelings. It won’t encourage them to go and take their life, but may result in them changing their mind.
Another sign to be aware of is when there is a sudden change in a person’s behaviour after a period of depression. They may seem a lot happier but this is not a sign that they have come through their difficulties, rather a reflection of the relief they are feeling now that they have decided to go ahead and end their lives.
Possible risk factors for becoming suicidal.
Some of the risk factors for developing suicidal feelings include:
- Experiencing stress in relationships with parents and brothers and sisters.
- Coming from a “broken” home.
- Not dealing with being gay
- Being brought up in a poor and disadvantaged environment.
- Physical or sexual abuse
- Having difficulty in forming social relationships with other people
- Having a severe mental illness like schizophrenia or manic depression, or severe depression.
What can you do about it?
If you are trying to help someone who is feeling suicidal, it is important that you get them to talk about their feelings. Don’t try and jolly them along or treat it as a "cry for help".
Getting them to learn problem-solving skills can help in developing positive ways of coping with some of the factors that may have played a part in triggering thoughts of suicide.
The key elements of problem solving include:
- Clearly defining the problem you are trying to solve. State in specific and concrete terms what the problem actually is.
- If there are many problems deal with one problem at a time.
- Think about what your desired outcome to the problem would be.
- Think about different solutions/options for resolving your problem. To generate possibilities it may help to "brainstorm", naming any possible solution no matter how off the wall they might seem.
- Look at each possible solution and weigh up the pros and cons. Choose the one that seems to have more positive consequences than the others.
- Start putting this solution into place
- Measure up the outcome of this solution – did it have the desired effect? If not go back and try and work out why, and repeat the whole problem solving process again if necessary.
It’s important that people who are having suicidal thoughts get professional help. Their GP is the best starting point for this.
If appropriate, anti-depressants may be prescribed. Some talking therapy should also be offered. For young people this may be individual, group or family therapy.
If someone is feeling suicidal, it may also help if they can be persuaded to write a list of the names, phones numbers and addresses of individuals, help lines, organisations and professionals available to them should they need support.
This is so that they don’t feel alone with their problems, but realise there are people that they can turn to for help.
