Suicide (Latin suicidium , from sui caedere , to kill oneself) is the intentional killing of one's self. Suicide may occur for a number of reasons, including depression, desperation, emotional pressure, physical pain, shame, guilt, anxiety, financial difficulties, or other undesirable situations. The World Health Organization noted that over one million people commit suicide every year, and that it is one of the leading causes of death among teenagers and adults under 35. There are an estimated 10 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year worldwide.
Views on suicide have been influenced by cultural views on existential themes such as religion, honor, and the meaning of life. The Abrahamic religions consider suicide an offense towards God due to religious belief in the sanctity of life. In the West it was often regarded as a serious crime. Japanese views on honor and religion led to seppuku, one of the most painful methods of suicide, to be respected as a means to atone for mistakes or failure, or as a form of protest during the samurai era. In the 20th century, suicide in the form of self-immolation has been used as a form of protest, and in the form of kamikaze and suicide bombing as a military or terrorist tactic. Sati is a Hindu funeral practice in which the widow would immolate herself on her husband's funeral pyre, either willingly, or under pressure from the family and in-laws.
Medically assisted suicide (euthanasia, or the right to die) is currently a controversial ethical issue involving people who are terminally ill, in extreme pain, and/or have minimal quality of life through injury or illness. Self-sacrifice for others is not usually considered suicide, as the goal is not to kill oneself but to save another.
The predominant view of modern medicine is that suicide is a mental health concern, associated with psychological factors such as the difficulty of coping with depression, inescapable suffering or fear, or other mental disorders and pressures. A suicide attempt is sometimes interpreted as a "cry for help" and attention, or to express despair and the wish to escape, rather than a genuine intent to die. Most people who attempt suicide do not complete suicide on a first attempt; those who later gain a history of repetitions have a significantly higher probability of eventual completion of suicide.
Classification
Euthanasia and assisted suicide
Main article: EuthanasiaIndividuals who wish to end their own life may enlist the assistance of another person to achieve death. The other person, usually a family member or physician, may help carry out the act if the individual lacks the physical capacity to do so even with the supplied means. Assisted suicide is a contentious moral and political issue in many countries, as seen in the scandal surrounding Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a medical practitioner who supported euthanasia, was found to have helped patients end their own lives, and was sentenced to prison time.
Murder-suicide
A murder-suicide is an act in which an individual kills one or more other persons immediately before or at the same time as him or herself.
The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms, including:
- Suicide to facilitate murder, as in suicide bombing
- Suicide after murder to escape punishment
- Suicide after murder as a form of self-injury due to guilt
- Having a combined objective of suicide and murder
- Considering one's suicide as the main act, but murdering one's children first, to avoid them becoming orphans, to be together in an expected afterlife, in the context of severe depression where the person feels he is sparing his loved ones from a horrible life, or simply just to experience the act
- Joint suicide in the form of killing the other with consent, and then killing oneself
- Punishment - taking revenge on those deemed responsible and escaping the world seen as a terrible place, as in many school shootings
- Committing suicide using a method that results in the deaths of others such as crashing an aeroplane, such a suicide was famously attempted in FedEx Flight 705
- Some cases of cult suicide may also involve murder. Conversely, many spree killings have ended in suicide.
The motivation for the murder in murder-suicide can be purely criminal in nature or be perceived by the perpetrator as an act of care for loved ones in the context of severe depression.
Suicide attack
Main article: Suicide attackA suicide attack is when an attacker perpetrates an act of violence against others, typically to achieve a military or political goal, that results in his or her own death as well. Suicide bombings are often regarded as an act of terrorism. Historical examples include the assassination of Czar Alexander II and the in part successful kamikaze attacks by Japanese air pilots during the Second World War.
Self-injury
Main article: Self-injurySelf-injury is not a suicide attempt; however, initially self-injury was erroneously classified as a suicide attempt. There is a non-causal correlation between self-harm and suicide; both are most commonly a joint effect of depression.
Mass suicide
Main article: Mass suicideSome suicides are done under peer pressure or as a group. Mass suicides can take place with as few as two people, in a "suicide pact", or with a larger number of people. An example is the mass suicide that took place by members of the Peoples Temple, an American cult led by Jim Jones in Guyana in 1978.
Metaphorical suicide
The metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest", for example political suicide.
Impact of suicide
It is estimated that each suicide in the United States leaves an average of six people intimately affected by the death, either as a spouse, parent, significant other, sibling, or child of the deceased person. These people are referred to as survivors.
Causes
There is no single cause for which suicide can be directly attributed. Environmental factors, childhood upbringing, and mental illness each play a large role. Sociologists today consider external circumstances, such as a traumatic event, as a trigger instead of an actual independent cause. Suicides are more likely to occur during periods of socioeconomic, family and individual crisis. Most people with suicidal tendencies tend to suffer from some mental illness such as depression, bipolar disorder, or some degree of anxiety disorder. These diagnosable mental disorders are associated with more than 90% of suicide victims. As a result, many researchers study the causes of depression to understand the causes of suicide.
Many theories have been developed to explain the causes of suicide. Psychiatric theories emphasize mental illness. Psychological theories emphasise personality and poor coping skills, while sociological theories stress the influence of social and environmental pressures.
Biological
Genetic and biological factors play a large role in suicide likelihood. Research has shown that suicidal behaviour runs in families. A notable example are the suicides of the Hemingway family in which five members committed suicide. In 1985, the American Journal of Medical Genetics studied an Amish community in Pennsylvania. The studies revealed that four families, representing only 16 percent of the total Amish population, accounted for 73 percent of all Amish suicides. Some scientists claim 10 to 15 genes account for triggering suicide attempts. Similarly how depression is linked genetically, family ties may also have a large effect on one's suicide risk.
Mental illness
Studies show a high incidence of mental disorders in suicide victims at the time of their death with the total figure ranging from 98% to 87.3% with mood disorders and substance abuse being the two most common. A person diagnosed with schizophrenia may commit suicide for a number of reasons, including because of depression. Suicide among people suffering from bipolar disorder is often an impulse, which is due to the sufferer's extreme mood swings (one of the main symptoms of bipolar disorder), or also possibly an outcome of delusions occurring during an episode of mania or psychotic depression. Major depressive disorder is associated with a higher than average rate of suicide, especially in men.
Many studies measuring incidence of psychiatric disorder in suicides employ after-the-fact diagnosis. Such studies are often criticized for lack of objectivity. The main argument is that a decision of the psychiatrist is biased if he believes that suicidal people must be mentally ill. This bias is indirectly confirmed by statistics: "the highest estimate of mental illness when a sample had been diagnosed before suicide was 22 percent. Afterward the highest estimate was 90 percent."
Use of after-the-fact diagnosis may lead to a kind of tautology. In simple words, "We say, in essence, 'All people who attempt suicide are mentally ill.' If someone asks, 'How do you know they are mentally ill?' the implied answer is, 'Because only mentally ill persons would try to commit suicide.'
Substance use
See also: Long-term effects of alcohol and Long-term effects of benzodiazepinesBoth chronic substance misuse as well as acute substance abuse is associated with an increased risk of suicide. This is because of int
SAVE | Elderly Depression
Elderly Depression. It is a myth that depression is part of the ... Elderly Depression; Hospitalization; The Link Between Depression and Suicide
Vascular Depression in the Elderly; A Suicide Risk - Suicide.org!
Vascular Depression in the Elderly; A Suicide Risk - Suicide.org! Vascular Depression in the Elderly; A Suicide Risk - Suicide.org! Vascular Depression in the Elderly; A Suicide ...
Suicide Prevention International develops suicide prevention projects ...
Suicide Prevention in the Elderly; European Alliance Against Depression; Suicide Prevention in China ... Suicide in the Elderly The highest rates of suicide are found in people ...
Elderly Suicide at Suicide.org! Elderly Suicide at Suicide.org ...
The most common cause for elderly suicide, as for all suicides, is untreated depression. Thus, elderly depression needs to be recognized and treated.
Depression - elderly: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia
Depression can be complicated by Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. It also can complicate other medical conditions in the elderly. Suicide in the elderly is one of the ...
NIMH ยท Older Adults: Depression and Suicide Facts (Fact Sheet)
... and treatment of depression and suicidal symptoms in elderly patients. A recent study of the program showed that it reduced thoughts of suicide and that major depression improved. 15
Depression - elderly
Depression - elderly Definition Depression is a medical illness in which a person has ... It also can complicate other medical conditions in the elderly. Suicide in the elderly ...
Depression in Elderly
Depression in elderly people tends to last longer and increases risk of suicide and death. Symptoms and treatment of depression in elderly.
Depression - elderly
Depression - elderly Definition Depression is a medical illness in which a person has ... It also can complicate other medical conditions in the elderly. Suicide in the elderly is ...
Depression - Suicide and the Elderly
When I first wrote about suicide - 30 years ago - I was a terribly depressed person. Now my general health is good. But what about those for whom disease has a daily, painfully ...