suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and substance abuse (including alcoholism and the use of and withdrawal from benzodiazepines) are risk factors. Some suicides are impulsive acts due to stress (such as from financial or academic difficulties), relationship problems (such as breakups or divorces), or harassment and bullying. Those who have previously attempted suicide are at a higher risk for future attempts. Effective suicide prevention efforts include limiting access to methods of suicide such as firearms, drugs, and poisons; treating mental disorders and substance abuse; careful media reporting about suicide; and improving economic conditions. Although crisis hotlines are common resources, their effectiveness has not been well studied.

The most commonly adopted method of suicide varies from country to country and is partly related to the availability of effective means. Common methods of suicide include hanging, pesticide poisoning, and firearms. Suicides resulted in 828,000 deaths globally in 2015, an increase from 712,000 deaths in 1990.. For the number 828,000, see Table 5, line "Self-harm", second column (year 2015). For the number 712,000, see Table 2, line "Self-harm", first column (year 1990) This makes suicide the 10th leading cause of death worldwide.

Approximately 1.5% of all deaths worldwide are by suicide. In a given year, this is roughly 12 per 100,000 people. Rates of suicide are generally higher among men than women, ranging from 1.5 times higher in the developing world to 3.5 times higher in the developed world. Suicide is generally most common among those over the age of 70; however, in certain countries, those aged between 15 and 30 are at the highest risk. Europe had the highest rates of suicide by region in 2015. There are an estimated 10 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year. Non-fatal suicide attempts may lead to injury and long-term disabilities. In the Western world, attempts are more common among young people and women.

Views on suicide have been influenced by broad existential themes such as religion, honor, and the meaning of life. The Abrahamic religions traditionally consider suicide as an offense towards God due to the belief in the sanctity of life. During the samurai era in Japan, a form of suicide known as seppuku (, ) was respected as a means of making up for failure or as a form of protest. Sati, a practice outlawed by the British in India, expected a Hindu widow to immolate herself on her husband's funeral pyre, either willingly or under pressure from her family and society. Suicide and attempted suicide, while previously illegal, are no longer so in most Western countries. It remains a criminal offense in some countries. In the 20th and 21st centuries, suicide has been used on rare occasions as a form of protest, and kamikaze and suicide bombings have been used as a military or terrorist tactic. Suicide is often seen as a major catastrophe for families, relatives, and other nearby supporters, and it is viewed negatively almost everywhere around the world.

Definitions

Suicide, derived from Latin , is "the act of taking one's own life". Attempted suicide or non-fatal suicidal behavior amounts to self-injury with at least some desire to end one's life that does not result in death. Assisted suicide occurs when one individual helps another bring about their own death indirectly via providing either advice or the means to the end. This is in contrast to euthanasia, where another person takes a more active role in bringing about a person's death. Suicidal ideation is thoughts of ending one's life but not taking any active efforts to do so. It may or may not involve exact planning or intent. In a murder–suicide (or homicide–suicide), the individual aims at taking the lives of others at the same time. A special case of this is extended suicide, where the murder is motivated by seeing the murdered persons as an extension of their self. Suicide in which the reason is that the person feels that they are not part of society is known as egoistic suicide.

In 2011, the Centre for Suicide Prevention in Canada found that the normal verb in scholarly research and journalism for the act of suicide was ''commit''. On the other hand, the American Psychological Association lists "committed suicide" as a term to avoid because it "frame suicide as a crime". Some advocacy groups recommend using the terms ''took his/her own life'', ''died by suicide'', or ''killed him/herself'' instead of ''committed suicide''. The Associated Press Stylebook recommends avoiding "committed suicide" except in direct quotes from authorities. The ''Guardian'' and '' Observer'' style guides deprecate the use of "committed", as does CNN. Opponents of ''commit'' argue that it implies that suicide is criminal, sinful, or morally wrong.

Risk factors

Factors that affect the risk of suicide include mental disorders, drug misuse, psychological states, cultural, family and social situations, genetics, experiences of trauma or loss, and nihilism. Mental disorders and substance misuse frequently co-exist. Other risk factors include having previously attempted suicide, the ready availability of a means to take one's life, a family history of suicide, or the presence of traumatic brain injury. For example, suicide rates have been found to be greater in households with firearms than those without them.

Socio-economic problems such as unemployment, poverty, homelessness, and discrimination may trigger suicidal thoughts. Suicide might be rarer in societies with high social cohesion and moral objections against suicide. About 15–40% of people leave a suicide note. War veterans have a higher risk of suicide due in part to higher rates of mental illness, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and physical health problems related to war. Genetics appears to account for between 38% and 55% of suicidal behaviors. Suicides may also occur as a local cluster of cases.

Most research does not distinguish between risk factors that lead to thinking about suicide and risk factors that lead to suicide attempts. Risks for suicide attempt rather than just thou