Suicide

Suicide is sometimes seen as the ultimate escape from the pain a person is experiencing in life. There are times when it seems to a suicidal or depressed person that life will never be the way she or he would like it to be and that he or she will never be happy. Suicide seems like the answer.

This is why it is important for a depressed person who is contemplating suicide to seek help, either from your doctor, from a suicide hotline, or from a mental health professional (look online for local and national hotline numbers: www.suicidehotlines.com. or call 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-273-TALK). As you can see by the telephone numbers, you can call if you need someone to talk to, even if you are not on the brink of ending your life.

Women are more likely to attempt suicide, but they usually choose methods that are less likely to kill them than the methods men usually use. Men tend to use more lethal methods and are generally less likely to ask for help or let anyone know what they plan. White men over the age of 70 are the group with the highest number who actually end up killing themselves. However, women who attempt suicide many times do sometimes end up succeeding in killing themselves, so it is important not to discount the danger they pose to themselves.

If you have a loved one who has attempted suicide, the best you can do is get them into treatment. However, if he or she refuses to get help and continues to be actively suicidal, you should call an emergency room or the police and advise them that your loved one is a serious danger to him or herself. He or she will probably not thank you for it immediately, but you will know that you have given that person another chance to experience happiness again, rather than giving up that possibility in this life. If he or she receives treatment, it is likely that they eventually be thankful for the life-saving intervention.