how?
How do people usually commit suicide?
- More people use guns (52%) than all other methods combined. Suffocation (mostly hanging) accounts for 23%, poisoning/overdose accounts for 18%, jumping 2%, reduction 2%, and other 4%.
- The majority of nonfatal self-injury treated in emergency departments was due to poisoning/overdose (64%), followed by cuts (19%). Less than 1% of non-fatal attempts were made with a gun.
when?
When do people take their own lives?
One study of suicide attempters asked:
"How much time elapsed between the time you decided to commit suicide and the time you actually attempted suicide?"
- 24% said less than five minutes
- Another 47% said an hour or less
Although some people who die by suicide plan their actions carefully, many do not. In fact, many people take their own lives within 24 hours of a crisis - such as an argument with a family member or the breakdown of a relationship.
NVISS research found that one-third of teenagers who died by suicide faced crisis within 24 hours, based on police or forensic investigation reports.
Where?
Where does suicide occur?
About three-quarters of suicides occur at home. Most (85%) died at the scene and were never taken to hospital.
The highest suicide rates are in rural areas, the West (excluding California), and, to a lesser extent, parts of southern and northern New England.
Why?
Why do people commit suicide?
Many factors lead people to attempt to end their lives. Drug and alcohol dependence and abuse, depression and certain other mental illnesses, impulsivity and aggression, family history of suicide, parental psychopathology, previous attempts, and recent losses or setbacks (such as relationship breakdown, arrest, or work problems) are risk factors for suicide death and suicide attempts. Cultural factors also play a role. Feeling hopeless is probably the most common theme.
Suicide attempts (whether fatal or non-fatal) rarely occur "out of the blue." Tryers often face a variety of problems—some long-term, some short-term. However, their moments of action tend to be during brief periods of heightened vulnerability.
One of the most powerful risk factors for suicide death is the ready availability of highly lethal methods. In America, that means guns.
