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Suicide and Suicide Prevention

Suicidal Ideation, Plan, and Intent, Including Parasuicidal Gestures

Suicidal ideation means having thoughts about suicide, which may range from vague wishes to detailed plans. A suicidal gesture is an action resembling suicide which does not appear to have complete intention behind it, an example being superficial cuts on the wrists. When gestures of this nature have a socially manipulative element motivating them, they are called parasuicidal gestures, which are a hallmark of borderline personality disorder.

Whether seemingly serious or not; intentional or not, manipulative or not, involving only thoughts or not, all such phenomena should be taken very, very seriously and be brought to the attention of a mental health specialist as soon as possible: About half of all successful suicides are preceded by a gesture or an attempt, and anyone who has made an unsuccessful attempt is extremely more likely to eventually die of suicide than is someone without prior ideation or plan.

Incidence

Approximately one million people commit suicide in the U.S. each year, twice the rate of homicides and a leading cause of death. Men commit suicide 4 times as often as women, but women make substantially more gestures.

In the U.S., Asian-Americans – including both men and women - are more likely to commit suicide than any other ethnic group, followed by Caucasians and Afro-Americans. Males over the age of seventy commit suicide more often than other age groups, although there is no such age relationship for women.

Most suicides in the U.S. occur by firearms, followed by asphyxiation (e.g., hanging) and toxicity (poisoning; overdose). Although all indicated methods of suicide are extremely serious, suicidologists warn that people who threaten suicide by hanging or by jumping have a particularly strong likelihood of making an attempt.

Mental Health and Suicide

Research indicates that almost everyone who commits suicide is suffering from one or more psychological disorders at the time, with substance abuse, depression, and bipolar illness being the most common.