Understanding Suicide

Suicide is the most complex and difficult to understand of all human behavior.  Yet suicidal people are just like you and me.  They have problems, we have problems. The difference between us is that for the moment, we feel we can handle our problems and do not feel overwhelmed by them.

In its simplest terms, suicide seems to be a solution to a problem.  More often, it seems to be a solution to many unsolvable problems.  Thoughts of suicide occur during times of personal crisis, unrelenting stress, depression or when we are confronted with a fear of failure or the spectre of an unacceptable loss.

Although sometimes an impulsive act, most people will think about suicide for days, weeks, months or even years before they make an attempt.  Oddly, thinking of suicide provides a curious blend of relief and terror in that all one’s problems can finally be solved and terror at the idea of having to die to find that relief.

Since the beginning of time, suicide has been one way to seemingly solve life’s problems. Tragically, suicide is the wrong solution. Most people who end their own lives do so for ordinary reasons, not for extraordinary ones. Far too frequently what seemed worth dying for could have been treated, mended, or endured until time worked its own magical cure.

Suicide takes many forms, and some suicide threats are efforts to control the behavior of other people.  Most often though, wanting to die and feeling suicidal is a primary symptom of untreated depression, a medical condition for which excellent treatment is available.  It is important to understand that suicidal thoughts are strongly associated with disturbances in brain chemistry and that these changes can be reversed with appropriate biological and psychological treatments.

Other emotional troubles and personal problems can trigger suicidal thoughts, but these problems also yield to counseling, support, and the passage of time.  The vast majority of all suicidal people want to live, if only they can be shown a way.