Suicide Is Not an Illness

When someone commits suicide, this is a huge shock for the people close to them. They often did not see it coming and are faced with an enormous amount of guilt. The family will never know why someone decided to take that step. Those questions eat away at people. People with suicidal behaviour show a number of signs. It is very important to catch every sign and to take it seriously.

Suicide

Suicidal behaviour is an expression of suffering. It is a kind of cry for help to the rest of the world. People search for a way to escape from the unbearable pain they continually suffer.

Certain psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia often go together with suicidal tendencies. Medication exists for these illnesses, and when people take this, the suicidal symptoms often disappear entirely.

Environment

We see suicide as a problem, but for the person who commits suicide it is actually a solution. This is often hard to accept for family and friends.

Risk factors

There are certain factors which cause one person to take a desperate act sooner than another. These are called risk factors, and can be divided up into the following:

• Biological factors
• Psychological factors
• Social factors
• Psychiatric disorders
• Former suicidal behaviour 

Protective factors

There are also some protective factors. These are meant to effectively prevent people from taking their own lives. Some of them are listed below.

• Space to talk about certain problems.
• Knowing what assistance is possible.
• Having a positive attitude towards mental health care.
• Not having access to means to commit suicide with.

Suicidial behaviour does not appear out of nowhere. It's a combination of various risk factors and a lack of protective factors.

Process

An entire process goes ahead of suicide. People don't simply decide from one day to the next to end their lives. This makes it even more painful for family and friends, because they feel like they missed something and didn't take action on time.

The process before suicide begins with the thought of it. People wonder what life would be like without them. Then the thought is changed into a wish: they don't want to be here any longer, they want to die. To fulfil this wish, they draw up a plan and think about the way in which they will take their life. These three phases happen in someone's head, which is why it's so difficult for the environment to know about it. After having gone through the three phases, only the suicide attempt and the suicide are left.

Signs

There are various signs a person with suicidal thoughts sends out.

Direct verbal messages

• I want to end my life.
• Life isn't worth it for me any longer.
• I want to sleep for eternity.
• I wish I were dead.

Indirect verbal messages

• My life has no more use.
• I'm fed up with it all.
• I've made a will.
• I'm done.

Behavioural signs

• Dejected mood.
• Listlessness and depression.
• Seclusion.
• Giving away personal effects.
• Excessive use of alcohol, medication or drugs.

Taboo

The taboo surrounding suicide has greatly diminished over the years, yet it hasn't disappeared entirely. For many people suicide has a different meaning than dying because of old age, an accident or an illness. The reason for this taboo is connected to our history. In the past, suicide was a crime. The family got all the blame and the person's possessions were seized by the police. Someone who had died because of suicide wasn't even allowed to be buried next to the "normal" deceased. Luckily, suicide as a crime has been taken from the lawbook by now.

Suicide is often also a taboo within a family. They will talk about losing the person, but not about how this took place. There are also families who do the opposite: they don't talk about the loss, but only mention the suicide. They also often try to figure out why someone did this. People frequently need to accept that they'll never know the exact reason.

More common among young people?

Suicide occurs more often among young people. The explanations for this are versatile:

• Change in the division of roles between men and women.
• The secularisation.
• Increased use of alcohol and drugs among young people.
• Increase of depressive symptoms.
• Increase of unemployment.

However, it's important to remember that suicidal thoughts can occur at any age. Every attempt must be taken seriously. Someone who has already undertaken several attempts, lowers their treshold for doing it again. It is also true that half the people who commit suicide had attempted it before, so watchfulness is needed for every attempt. Singles and the elderly also form a vulnerable group.

Every person needs to pay attention to the signals someone sends out. By talking about it and offering support, someone might be discouraged from suicide. Usually understanding and love are what people are so desperately looking for. You can't change the mind of someone who is determined to do it, but some support can make an enormous difference.

Goodbye cruel world. I’m leaving you today. Goodbye all you people. There’s nothing you can say to make me change my mind. Goodbye!

(Goodbye cruel world – Pink Floyd)

Sources: www.todio.nl