SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE (212) 673-3000


Yes, Talking About Suicide Scares Us

Let's be honest. Suicide is something almost everybody thinks about at some point in their life but is something no one wants to talk about. Yet, talking about suicide, its causes and what people who are feeling suicidal are experiencing, provides us with the best opportunity we have to prevent it.

People feel suicidal for countless reasons, some of them understandable, others impossible to fathom--from the death of a loved one, the suffering of some debilitating disease (like cancer or AIDS) or the breakup of a relationship to the perceived loss of respect, status or almost anything (real or imagined). There are as many profiles of the suicidal--for example, being young, an older adult, a workaholic, alcoholic, unemployed, homeless, mentally or emotionally ill--as there are people in our society.

The good news is: Suicide can often be prevented through awareness, education and training. For, it is believed that as many as 75% of the people who attempt suicide do something to let others know what they are feeling before they act. They show warning signs or say something that tells us they are in trouble and need help.

A Few Facts About Suicide

Suicide is a health epidemic in America today. The proof? Here are a few facts about suicide from the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Association of Suicidology:

    Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S.
    Someone dies from suicide every 15 minutes
    Suicide leads to over 36,000 fatalities a year
    Over 5,000,000 living Americans have attempted suicide

To put the scope of suicide as a national health problem in perspective, you will probably be surprised to learn that over the last five years, more Americans have died from suicide than from AIDS.

In fact, more Americans die by their own hands each year than are murdered by someone else. And though suicide impacts the young and the old most strongly, it touches people of every age, culture, social, sexual and religious identity.

Suicide Doesn't Have to Happen

Everyone involved in suicide prevention agrees that most people who attempt suicide don't want to die; they feel lost and overwhelmed by the pain they are experiencing and just want it to stop. That is why it is important to take every statement about suicide seriously. Don't be afraid to get involved.



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