This month being Suicide Prevention Month, I figured we’d learn more about it on today’s post. Most of us have heard this word Suicide, read about it, or know of people who died by suicide (died by suicide is the correct term to use btw, not committed suicide). Some of us even know these people or those who’ve contemplated it at a point in their life. So, what exactly is suicide?

Suicide can be defined as one ending their own life. There are many triggers or factors that can cause one to attempt suicide. These include but are not limited to:

  1. Mental illness such as depression, bipolar disorder, etc
  2. Having extreme stress.
  3. Having a chronic illness.
  4. Loss such as the death of a loved one, loss of a job, etc
  5. Social stigma – being stigmatized by friends, schoolmates, colleagues such that you feel unworthy or useless.

Next, we shall look at how to identify if you or someone you know is at risk of suicide. Some of the sign include:

  1. Preoccupation with death – the person may start talking about death more, he/she may also talk about how they’d like to die or be buried, they may also talk more about “fancy” ways to die or make some remarks about death often.
  2. Feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness – you feel like your existence has no value to yourself and others, you don’t look forward to life or to seeing a new day.
  3. Withdrawal from friends and family – you start keeping to yourself where initially you’d enjoy being around friends and family.
  4. Loss of interest in things that you once enjoyed.
  5. Giving out their items or valuables.
  6. Putting things in order, saying goodbye, writing their will.
  7. Obsessive research on death or matters around death.
  8. Hyperactivity while they normally aren’t that hyper –They might be trying to live life for the last time or they may be excited that their pain is ending soon. This particular sign may be misinterpreted as them getting better and one should be really careful when assessing this.

Join me next time and, we shall discuss how to handle such a situation and how to help someone who might be at risk of suicide.

SharonahKen ❤❤❤