Suicide is when a person purposely takes his/her own life. Suicide usually stems from negative thoughts and feelings about the self, such as, I am a loser, Nobody loves me, and The world would be a better place without me, coupled with feelings of hopelessness (things will not change) and that life is not worth living. (We will talk more about these reasons in the next post.)

Who commits suicide?

Both men and women of all ages commit suicide – from young teens to people in their nineties. They commit suicide for a variety of different reasons, touched on above, but all of those reasons make these people feel like suicide is the answer to their feelings and problems. People who come from very traumatic childhoods or who have faced significant adversity (meaning challenging situations) are at a higher risk for suicide. In fact these people make up anywhere from 10-40% of people who later display suicidal behavior. (Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/345842/description/Suicidal_Threads)

Research has also pointed to a chemical marker in the brain that can contribute to suicidal thoughts in people who have suffered trauma at an early age. The brain parts responsible for dealing with stress may not be working so well. If you are under stress, please read more about how to reduce stress in the post Stress Reduction.

(Source: https://www.elsevier.com/about/press-releases/research-and-journals/study-links-brain-inflammation-to-suicidal-thinking-in-depression)

Unfortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports the following:

• One million people worldwide commit suicide each year.

• In the last 45 years, the suicide rate has increased 60%.

Those statistics need to change; instead of increasing, they need to decrease. The only way for that to happen is for people to be aware of this issue and how they can be part of the solution instead of the problem. Read on to be part of that solution!!