Suicide Prevention

Suicide Prevalence

It is estimated that 30,000 Americans commit suicide a year and the World Health Organization reports an estimate of 1.8 percent of all deaths worldwide result from suicide each year.

Risk Factors for Suicide

• Depression or feelings of hopelessness: 90% of people who commit suicide have a mental illness, most of whom weren't being treated.
• Prior suicide attempts: ¼ to ½ people who commit suicide made previous attempts.
• Previous suicidal threats: ¾ of people who commit suicide give warning of intentions.
• Family history of suicide or mental illness (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia).
• Recent death of a friend or acquaintance (especially by suicide): 1/3 of suicide attempts are associated with a loss.
• Lacking social support.
• Drug or alcohol use: a significant number of people who commit suicide are under the influence at the time.

Signs of Potential Suicide

• Depression or feelings of hopelessness.
• Talking about suicide: Any comment about not wanting to live, saying people would be better off without them, or how they won't be around much longer.
• An interest in music, books, or movies about suicide.
• Giving away prized possessions.
• Preparing for death (e.g., writing a will, writing letters to friends).
• Acquiring the means to commit suicide (e.g., stockpiling pills, buying a weapon).
• Sudden lift in spirits that can result when a depressed person has come to a decision to end their life.
  

Myths About Suicide

• Myth: Talking with someone about suicide will put the idea into their head.
  Reality: Talking about suicide gives the person a chance to talk about it and get help.
  
• Myth: Attempts are meant only for attention. They are not serious.
  Reality: Anytime someone threatens or attempts suicide, it is serious; it indicates that something is wrong. People often make attempts before they finally commit suicide.
  
• Myth: People make conscious rational decisions to take their life.
  Reality: Suicide is most often the result of a psychiatric disorder, primarily depression or manic-depression rather than a conscious rational decision. Suicide is also related to schizophrenia, alcoholism/substance abuse, and personality disorders.
  
  Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, a noted researcher on bipolar disorder and suicide, reports that "in all of the major investigations to date, 90-95 percent of people who committed suicide had a diagnosable psychiatric illness."
  
  These psychiatric disorders are treatable, meaning most suicides are preventable.
• Myth: Suicide is the result of an impulsive action on the part of the individual.
  Reality: Most suicides are the culmination of a protracted process, often over a 2-year period that results in a person taking their life. Initially, the person experiences a loosening of their own and societal inhibition against suicide. There is a shift from thinking of suicide as immoral or unthinkable to seeing it as a viable option over time. When a person begins to consider how they might take their life, they are more at risk if they have acquired the means to take their life and have a plan and intention to carry their plan out.
  
  If drugs and alcohol are involved, or if the person suffers from a personality disorder, it may increase the possibility that the person could take their life impulsively.

• Talking about wanting to die
• Looking for a way to kill oneself
• Talking about feeling hopeless or having no purpose
• Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain
• Talking about being a burden
• Increasing use of alcohol or drugs
• Acting anxious, agitated, or recklessly
• Sleeping too much or too little
• Withdrawing or feeling isolated
• Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge
• Displaying extreme mood swings

The more of these signs a person shows, the greater the risk. Warning signs are associated with suicide but may not be what causes a suicide.

What Can You Do?

• For consultations:
  • Contact your Resident Associate (RA) or Counseling Services.
• For professional crisis support:
  • Reach out to Counseling Services.
  • Call (626) 395-8331 and press "2" when prompted for after-hours support.
• For emergencies:
  • Call Security at (626) 395-5000 (on-campus) or 911 (off-campus).

Additionally, submit a CARE Team Referral form.

Assess the Risk of Suicide

How serious or imminent: Follow up on anything the student has said that makes you wonder if they are suicidal (e.g., "What did you mean when you said you don't care about your grades because you probably wouldn't be around at the end of the term anyway?"). Remember to take all threats seriously.

Be direct but gentle: "When you say these things, it makes me wonder if you're thinking about suicide. Are you?"

Do they have a plan? How thought out is the plan?

• Do they have a means to harm themselves (e.g., access to a gun, pills, knife)?
• Do they say they intend to carry out their plan?

The more developed the plan the more serious the danger and even more dangerous if they have the means to harm themselves and they use alcohol or drugs. Use of drugs and alcohol can impair judgment and contribute to a person spontaneously acting on feelings of self-harm.

If a person is thinking about suicide, but they have no clear plan or means and they deny any intention, you have some time to get the student help. Consult with an RA or Counseling Services. Help the student get connected with Counseling Services (e.g., escort them if necessary). We are located in the Health Center on Arden Road. For after-hours emergency care, call the Counseling Services main line at (626) 395-8331 and press "2" when prompted.

If the person is thinking about suicide and they have a plan: Involve someone right away. "You're telling me you've thought about suicide enough that you even have a plan. That has me really scared for you. I want to talk to someone about how to help you." Call the Counseling Services at (626) 395-8331 or for after hours, call (626) 395-8331 and press "2" when prompted.

If the person intends to or is threatening to harm themselves: Involve someone right away. Call the Counseling Services at (626) 395-8331 or for after hours, call (626) 395-8331 and press "2" when prompted.

If the person has taken pills or harmed themselves: This is a medical emergency. The student needs to be taken to the emergency room for immediate medical attention. Call security at (626) 395-5000 or call 911 if you are off-campus.

What makes helping in this situation so difficult?

• Sense of responsibility - You are not expected to handle this on your own; if you suspect suicidal behavior, involve others.
• Sense of urgency (worrying that something is going to happen right away) - Unless the person has actually made an attempt or has the means at hand, you will have some time to get help.
• Fear that you'll make the person mad by involving others - Getting them help has to be your priority.
• Betraying trust if you've promised not to tell anyone - If a person asks you not to tell anyone if they are suicidal, you should be honest with them and let them know that is not a promise you can keep. It is too much for any one person to hold and it prevents them from getting the help they need. Bottom line: Be honest about what you can and cannot hold in confidence - their safety is the priority.
• You may not know the student - This can make the conversation difficult to initiate. Just be honest (e.g., "I know I really don't know you, but your friends have talked to me, and they're concerned about how things are going for you.")