The Urge to End It All: Who?

This article is by far one of the most useful ways to understand suicide in a rational sense, and the following posts are concerning topics discussed in the article. I strongly recommend reading the full article. (Original Article by Scott Anderson)

Who is it that completes suicide?

"The National Institute of Mental Health says that 90 percent of all suicide “completers” display some form of diagnosable mental disorder."

That means that those people are the ones in serious need of help, but they are also they type of people who display the "signs" of a suicidal person.

These people generally choose the less lethal methods of suicide ranging from overdosing to slitting wrists. "Less lethal" in this sense, means they choose methods that leave them with a higher chance of survival.

On the other hand of the spectrum, there are the other 10% of suicide "completers". These are the people who are truly lost to suicide, because they have no mental problems, they just acted impetuously.

Something pushed them to the edge, and they acted too quickly, without letting the impulse pass. These people do not choose methods of suicide that are a "cry for help" as stated with the prior group, they choose methods that are quick and efficient such as firearms or jumping.

The reality of this, is that very few people who commit suicide actually want to die. Of the 90% group, many of them just act as a call for help, and do not really want to die, where in the 10% the people do not want to die either, they just wanted quick relief to the stress they were under.

When I continue discussing this article, it is important to understand these two groups, their similarities, and differences.