Suicidology - Suicide Myths

Suicide Myths

Here is a list of suicide myths and the truth behind these myths.

Myths Truths
People who commit suicide always leave notes. Most people don't leave notes. Only a small percentage leave any type of explanations about why they've chosen to kill themselves.
People who commit suicide don't warn others. Out of ten people who kill themselves, eight have given definite clues to their intentions. They leave numerous clues and warnings to others, although some of their clues may be non-verbal or difficult to detect.
People who talk about suicide are only trying to get attention. Few commit suicide without first letting someone else know how they feel. People thinking about suicide give clues and warnings as cries for help. Over 70% who do threaten to kill themselves either make an attempt or complete the act.
Once someone has already decided to commit suicide, nothing is going to stop them. Most of the time suicidal people are ambivalent about committing suicide. Most individuals don't want to die; they just want the pain they are feeling to stop.
Once the emotional state improves, the risk of suicide is over. The highest rates of suicide occur within about three months of an apparent improvement in a severely depressed state. Energy level is the important factor in someone who's improving having the energy to act on a suicidal impulse, if they perceive a stumbling block to recovery.
After a person has attempted suicide, it is unlikely they will try again. People who have attempted suicide are very likely to try again. 80% of people who commit suicide have made at least one previous attempt.
Don't mention suicide to someone who's showing signs of severe depression; it will plant the idea in their mind and they will act on it. Many depressed people have already considered suicide as an option. Talking about suicide generally provides a sense of relief and understanding to the person. Talking about suicide is one of the most helpful things you can do.
An unsuccessful attempt means that the person wasn't serious about ending their life. Some people are naive about how to kill themselves. The attempt in and of itself is the most important factor not the method.

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Famous quotes containing the words suicide and/or myths:

    “It is suicide to be abroad. But what is it to be at home, Mr. Tyler, what is it to be at home? A lingering dissolution.”
    —Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)

    “... suffering does not ennoble. It destroys. To resist destruction, self-hatred, or lifelong hopelessness, we have to throw off the conditioning of being despised, the fear of becoming the they that is talked about so dismissively, to refuse lying myths and easy moralities, to see ourselves as human, flawed, and extraordinary. All of us—extraordinary.”
    —Dorothy Allison (b. 1949)