Suicide in Brief

bm8gd2hpdGUgc3BhY2UgYmVsb3c/IGJhc2U2NA==

Before one can look at ways to prevent suicide, one must look at the factors which are involved that lead to suicidal attempts. If these signs are identified then there is an increase in probability that a suicidal attempt can be thwarted. There is usually more than one factor involved in a suicide attempt. The different factors can be broken into three sections; long term, short term and social demographic.

The main long term factor is previous suicide attempt as 10-15% of those who have attempted one before will die from another attempt later in their life.2 It is clear that one who attempts suicide before has a problem that must be fixed otherwise the likelihood will be they will try again. People who have substance abuse problems are also at a higher risk especially those who abuse alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant and increases the chances of acting on suicidal thoughts (Rich et al 1986). Physical illness where the patient is in constant pain or is immobilised to the extent of social withdrawal also increases suicidal thoughts and attempts.

Short term factors that are coupled with long term factors greatly increase suicide attempts. Factors such as work problems, being rejected, loss and relationship quarrels are the leading scenarios that are associated with suicide. These factors on their own may have a high risk factor but it is where one or more of these factors are associated with a long term factor is where the increase occurs. It is due to the increased stress from these events that lead to the suicidal attempts.

The social demographic shows the groups which are at higher risk then others; these include age, sex, marital status and occupation. It is known that males are at higher risk of suicide than females. This might be due to less the fact less males seek help than females or females self harm rather attempt suicide. The age factor shows that from 15 - 30 suicide deaths are a lot higher compared to other ages. People whose occupation is stressful are also at higher risk. Therefore a person who is male, aged between 15 -30 has alcohol problems, attempted suicide before, is single and recently suffered a loss in the family has a very high risk of a suicidal attempt. With these factors been known one can now try to prevent a suicidal attempt but people who have suicidal thoughts may want anonymous help. This where suicide organisations are
important but do they help in the long term?


some different links, not related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQx4qU10TDc

http://www.myspace.com/ageofgodsandmortals

http://mkaku.org/home/