Suicide (Potential)
Definition
Too often, family and associates are shocked at a suicide, saying things like, "I had no idea; he seemed so happy." In fact, your behavior may not match descriptions of these warning signs precisely but, related to your normal personality, changes may be evident. When you or someone you know displays warning signs of potential suicide, it is important to keep a close watch (to see that the opportunity for suicide does not arise), and to seek professional help as soon as possible. Begin by calling your local suicide hotline or a local psychiatrist or psychologist.
A person who is contemplating taking his or her own life may show one or more symptoms (see below). However, it is important to keep in mind that these warning signs are only guidelines. There is no one type of suicidal person.
Symptoms
- Withdrawal: You are unwilling to communicate and appear to have an overwhelming urge to be alone. You are withdrawing into a shell. Trouble at work can be a symptom of a withdrawal from the workplace, just as poor grades can signal a retreat from school. Rejection of forms of recreation you usually consider pleasurable may also be a warning sign.
- Moodiness: Although we all have our ups and downs, when the shifts are drastic-an emotional "high" one day followed by being "down in the dumps" the next-there is cause for alarm. Sudden, inexplicable calm after a spell of gloom is a danger sign; it may indicate that you may have decided on suicide as the solution to the problem.
- Life Crisis or Trauma: If you are deeply depressed, divorce, death, or an accident can trigger a suicide attempt. The loss of self-esteem that may occur after loss of a job or a financial setback may produce suicidal thinking.
- Personality Change: The wallflower turns into the life of the party, or vice versa. Or there might be a change in attitude toward personal appearance or a change in energy level.
- Threat: You may state outright that you want to commit suicide, saying things like "I wish I'd never been born," or "You're going to be better off when I'm gone." The popular assumption that people who threaten suicide never really do it is not true.
- Gift-Giving: You may begin to "bequeath" your most cherished belongings to friends and loved ones.
- Depression: You appear to be physically depressed and may be unable to function socially or in the workplace.
- Aggression: The suicidal urge may be manifested in your sudden participation in dangerous activities such as high-speed driving or unsafe sex.
Related Info
The risk that the suicide actually will be completed is greater in older men, in people who have lost a spouse (by divorce or death), in alcoholics, in those with a history of previous suicide attempts, or in those with a family history of suicide.
Other Types of Depression
Depression
Major Depressive Disorder
Manic-Depressive Illness
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Situational Depression