What Is Suicide?

Suicide is death caused by injuring oneself with the intent to die. Suicide means ending your own life. It is sometimes a way for people to escape pain or suffering. When someone ends their own life, we say that they “died by suicide.”

A suicide attempt is when someone harms themselves with an intent to end their life but they do not die as a result of their action. Suicide is connected to other forms of injury and violence. For example people who have experienced violence, including child abuse, bullying, or sexual violence have a higher suicide risk.

What Causes Suicide?

According to Causes of suicidal feelings, causes can be conflicts, disasters, violence, abuse, loss, or sense of isolation. Other causes are mental health problems, prejudice or stigma, bereavement, loneliness, inadequate or feeling of failure, or other forms of trauma. Suicide happens impulsively in moments of crisis with a breakdown in the ability to deal with life stresses, such as financial problems, relationship break-up or chronic pain and illness.

How Many People Committed Suicide?

Suicide was responsible for 48,183 American deaths in 2021, which is about one death every 11 minutes. In 2021, an estimated 12.3 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.7 million attempted suicide. In 2021 suicide was among the top 9 leading causes of death for people ages 10-64. “In 2022 around 49,500 people died due to suicide,”according to the CDC, which is the highest number ever recorded.

How Can You Prevent Suicide?

Suicide is a serious public health problem that can have long-lasting effects on individuals, families, and communities. The good news is that suicide is preventable. Preventing suicide requires strategies at all levels of society. This includes prevention and protective strategies for individuals, families, and communities. Everyone can help prevent suicide by learning the warning signs, promoting prevention and resilience, and a committing to social change.

I asked some students their perspectives on suicide and this is what they said:

Victoria Meza, eighth grader: “It’s bad, I don’t like suicide.”

Betsy Sanchez, eighth grader: “I think it is a really bad thing. I think you shouldn’t do it.”

https://www.cdc.gov/index.htm

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/suicide

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/suicidal-feelings/causes-of-suicidal-feelings/