Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by 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; improving economic conditions; and psychotherapy, primarily dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Although crisis hotlines, like 988 in North America and 13 11 14 in Australia, are common resources, their effectiveness has not been well studied. Suicidology is the scientific study of suicide and self-destructive behavior. Suicide accounts for an estimated 1.1% of deaths worldwide, or about 727,000 deaths in 2021 (roughly 8.9 per 100,000 people per year). Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among 15- to 29-year-olds globally, and nearly three-quarters (73%) of suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries. By gender, suicide rates 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; in the Western world, non-fatal suicide attempts are more common among young people and women. 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. The most commonly adopted method of suicide varies from country to country and is partly related to the availability of effective means. Assisted suicide, sometimes done when a person is in severe pain or facing an imminent death, is legal in many countries and increasing in numbers.
Views on suicide have been influenced by broad existential themes such as religion, honor, and the meaning of life. Most religions disapprove of suicide. During the samurai era in Japan, a form of suicide known as seppuku (腹切り, harakiri) was respected as a means of making up for failure or as a form of protest. 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; it has also been committed while or after murdering others, a tactic that has been used both militarily and by terrorists. Suicide is often seen as a major catastrophe, causing significant grief to the deceased's relatives, friends and community members, and it is viewed negatively almost everywhere around the world.
Definitions
Suicide, derived from Latin suicidium, 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 by providing either advice or the means to the end. Euthanasia, more specifically voluntary euthanasia, is 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. Suicidality is defined as "the risk of suicide, usually indicated by suicidal ideation or intent, especially as evident in the presence of a well-elaborated suicidal plan." 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. The Centre for Suicide Prevention in Canada found that the normal verb in scholarly research and journalism for the act of suicide was commit, and argued for destigmatizing terminology related to suicide; in 2011, they published an article calling for changing the language used around suicide entitled "Suicide and language: Why we shouldn't use the 'C' word". The American Psychological Association lists "committed suicide" as a term to avoid because it "frame[s] 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. Suicide may involve more than one method or result in unintended secondary trauma, such as in the case of complex and complicated suicides. Complex suicides involve the use of more than one method either simultaneously or successively; a rare type that may be further decomposed into secondary (i.e., a succeeding method spontaneously used after the principal is perceived to have failed to prevent pain or suffering) or primary (i.e., a succeeding method initiated after the principal is perceived to have failed) types. Complicated suicide describes a poorly understood process that results in secondary unintentional trauma as a result of using a single method.
Pathophysiology
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