Suicide Prevention
If you or someone you know is in an emergency, call or text The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or call 911 immediately.
Suicidal thoughts or behaviors are both damaging and dangerous. Someone experiencing these thoughts should seek immediate assistance from a health or mental health care provider. Having suicidal thoughts does not mean someone is weak or flawed.
Know the Warning Signs
Talking about:
- wanting to die
- great guilt or shame
- being a burden to others
Feeling:
- empty, hopeless, trapped, or having no reason to live
- extremely sad, more anxious, agitated, or full of rage
- unbearable emotional or physical pain
Changing behavior, such as:
- making a plan or researching a way to die
- withdrawing from friends, saying goodbye, giving away important items, or making a will
- taking dangerous risks such as driving extremely fast
- displaying extreme mood swings
- eating or sleeping more or less
- using drugs or alcohol more often
Risk Factors for Suicide
Research has found that more than half of people who died by suicide did not have a known mental health condition. A number of other things may put a person at risk of suicide, including:
- A family history of suicide
- Substance abuse. Drugs and alcohol can result in mental highs and lows that exacerbate suicidal thoughts
- Intoxication. More than one in three people who die from suicide are found to be currently under the influence
- Access to firearms
- A serious or chronic medical illness
- Gender. Although more women than men attempt suicide, men are four times more likely to die by suicide
- A history of trauma or abuse
- Prolonged stress
- Isolation
- Age. People under age 24 or above age 65 are at a higher risk for suicide
- A recent tragedy or loss
- Agitation and sleep deprivation
- Sexual orientation. Stress resulting from prejudice and discrimination (family rejection, bullying, violence) is a known risk factor for suicide attempts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth.
Adapted from National Alliance on Mental Illness - Risk of Suicide
Protective Factors
Protective factors are personal or environmental characteristics that help protect people from suicide.
Major protective factors for suicide include:
- Effective behavioral healthcare
- Connectedness to individuals, family, community, and social institutions
- Life skills (including problem-solving skills and coping skills, ability to adapt to change)
- Self-esteem and a sense of purpose or meaning in life
- Cultural, religious, or personal beliefs that discourage suicide
Additional Resources: