Articles (2007-2008):

Suicide Facts

Suicide cannot be defined other than the act of taking ones own life. To some, it could be a selfish act, something weak and brash and stupid. To others, it could be the ultimate sacrifice, to take life and death into one’s own hands and decide weather or not they live or die. Untreated mental illness (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and others) is the cause for the vast majority of suicides. Some people are genetically predisposed to depression, and thus they may not appear to be undergoing any negative life experiences, yet still become depressed, and may die by suicide.

                 Women continue to attempt suicide more often, but men tend to complete suicide more often. Many people who complete suicide do not tell any mental-health professional they plan to kill themselves in the months before they do so.

                Suicide prevention measures that are put in place following a psychiatric hospitalization usually involve mental-health professionals trying to implement a comprehensive outpatient treatment plan prior to the individual being discharged. Suicide prevention measures that are put in place following a psychiatric hospitalization usually involve mental-health professionals trying to implement a comprehensive outpatient treatment plan prior to the individual being discharged.

               Over  19,000 young people attempt suicide every year and about 700 of these succeed.Firearms are by far the most common means by which people take their life, accounting for nearly 60% of suicide deaths per year. Older people are more likely to kill themselves using a firearm compared to younger people.

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