Running head: SUICIDE 1

Suicide

Name

Institution Affiliation
SUICIDE 2

Suicide

The term suicide describes the act of purposely taking or ending one’s own life. Prior

to the late nineteenth century, suicide was legally defined as a criminal act in most western

countries. Based on culture and religion, communities view suicide on differing concept and

definitions. Most Western cultures, for instance, as well as traditional Judaism, Islam, and

Christianity tend to view self-murder as quite negative. One myth about suicide that may

result from this view is that suicide (suicidal ideation) is the result of a mental illness at all

times. Many cultures often view an attempted suicide as if it were a felony. Nevertheless,

suicides are sometimes seen as acceptable or even noble under certain conditions, such as in

protest against persecution (for instance, a hunger strike), as part of combat or resistance (for

example, World War II suicide pilots, suicide bombers), or as a way to preserve a

dishonoured person's honour (for example, sacrificing oneself to preserve family members'

honour or safety). Suicide is a serious public health concern, but with successful, evidence-

based and often low-cost interventions, suicides can be avoided[ CITATION Tho05 \l 2057 ]. A

comprehensive multisectoral suicide prevention program is required in order to be effective at

national level.

Suicide is often caused by a deep sense of hopelessness. The inability to see solutions

to problems or deal with difficult circumstances in life can lead people to see taking their own

lives as the only solution to what is only a temporary situation, and most suicide attempt

survivors continue to live healthy, rewarding lives. People with suicidal thoughts and feelings

suffer tremendous emotional pain. Usually, people who died by suicide have intense feelings

of hopelessness, desperation, and helplessness. Suicide is not a matter of moral weakness or a

defect in character. People who consider suicide feel like their pain is never going to end and

suicide is the only way to stop the suffering. Many people who think life isn't worth living
SUICIDE 3

even feel other people's lives shouldn't go on either. These people can then try to end other

people's lives before they kill themselves (or in combination to die with others).

Forms and Methods of suicide

Suicide is a complex issue that involves multiple aspects and should not be attributed

to a single cause. Not all people who die as a result of suicide are diagnosed with a mental

illness and not all people with a mental illness attempt suicide to end their lives. It is

projected that around 20 per cent of global suicides are due to pesticides self-poisoning, most

of which occur in low- and middle-income countries in rural agricultural areas. Statistics

show that more than 810,000 people globally committed suicide in the year 2012, with many

more recorded cases of suicide attempts annually[ CITATION Chr08 \l 2057 ]. That translates

into someone who dies by suicide somewhere in the world every 40 seconds. Every year in

the United States, more than 39,000 people were reported to kill themselves, making it the

10th leading cause of death. The actual number of suicides is likely to be higher because

some deaths are thought to be an accident, such as a poisoning, single-car accident, or

shooting, are not known as a suicide.

There are also trends concerning the ways of committing suicide. For instance, The

rate of hanging, carbon monoxide poisoning, or other forms of self-suffocation, rose from

1992 to 2006, whereas committing a gun suicide declined over that time and remained

unchanged from 2012-2013.

Types of suicide

According to Emile Durkheim in his book; A Study in Sociology on theory on suicide, stated

that there are four different types of suicide (Recker & Moore, 2016). According to

Durkheim, suicide is neither an individual act nor a private act. It is induced by some force

over and above the human or the super-individual. He considered "all classes of deaths

resulting directly or indirectly from the positive or negative acts of the victim himself, who
SUICIDE 4

knows the result they produce" The definition of the phenomenon of Durkheim rejects the

psychological explanation (Moore, 2016). The types as classified by Durkheim are

1. Altruistic suicide: This form of suicide happens when individuals and groups are

too close to each other and too personal. This kind of suicide is the product of the over-

integration of the person into social proof, for example – the customs of Sati, the warriors of

Danny.

2. Fatalistic suicide: This form of suicide is triggered by society's over-regulation.

Under a society's over-regulation, when a servant commits suicide, when a barren woman

committed suicide, it is a fatalistic example of suicide.

3. Anomic suicide: This type of suicide is caused by a certain breakdown of social

equilibrium, such as suicide following a lottery win or bankruptcy. In other words, anomic

suicide occurs in a suddenly-cropping situation.

4. Egoistic suicide: When a man becomes socially isolated or feels he has no place in

the society, he destroys himself, according to Durkheim. This is the self-centered person's

suicide that lacks altruistic feelings and is usually cut off from the society's main stream.

Causes of suicide

Depression is a major risk factor for suicide; others include psychiatric disorders,

chronic pain, drug use, a prior attempted suicide, and a family history of suicide. Impulsivity

also plays a role among teenagers taking their lives. Research reveals that about 90% of those

who died as a result of suicide were suffering from a mental illness. Depression has been the

most common mental disorder recorded. Impulsivity and use of chemicals and substance,

including alcohol and drugs, also alert signs of increased risk of suicide. It is essential to

remember that the natural consequence of serious life pressures is not suicidal thoughts or

behaviors. People experiencing a stressful event in life may feel intense sadness or loss,

anxiety, anger, or hopelessness, and may sometimes think that they would be better off dead.
SUICIDE 5

However, experiences of stressful life events in most people do not trigger recurring thoughts

of death, setting up a suicide plan, or attempts to die. If any of these occur, it suggests that the

person has depression or other psychiatric disorder and should seek professional treatment.

Warning Signs and Symptoms for Suicidal Behaviour

There are warning signals that indicate an individual is underway planning to take

away his life. The possible evident signs include the person getting his or her affairs in order,

writing a will, suddenly paying a visit to family members or friends that indicate one last time

face to face talk, purchasing tools and instruments that assist in suicide, tools like hose, gun,

pills, or, other medication forms, having sudden and significant change in moods, or writing

notes that are suicidal. Despite popular belief that many of the people who are successful in

taking suicide do not tell their psychologist or any other mental health professional that they

are having to kill themselves in a period like a month before doing it. In case when they

communicate their intentions, it is likely they do it to someone so close like a family member

or a friend.

How to Control and Prevent Suicide

Suicide contagion can be curbed. You can prevent suicide by being on the lookout for

the warning signs mentioned above. Methods of suicide prevention and treatment are based

on risk factors for patients. Treatments are recommended in addition to avoiding suicidal

thoughts or actions in the light of underlying conditions. When you suffer from a mental

disorder, the first move is to adopt a treatment plan to address this disease. Psychotherapy in

the form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is

one of the most common suicide prevention techniques (Pringle et al, 2013).

Cognitive behavioral therapy for people suffering from a variety of mental illnesses is

a common treatment choice. You are taught new ways to deal with anxiety and stressful life

events in this psychotherapy process. In this way, if suicidal thoughts occur, you can redirect
SUICIDE 6

and deal with these feelings in a different way than attempting to take your own life.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy is used to help a person understand thoughts or behaviors that

are destructive or unhealthy. This method of therapy then introduces techniques in relation to

how to handle difficult or troubling situations. However, further research is needed on

suicide-related psychotherapy, as DBT has been shown to decrease the prevalence of

attempted suicide, in general, but has shown little effect on completed suicides.

Conclusion and Future Study

Suicide causes difficult times to families and individual who commit suicide. There is

huge need to take the issue serious and have full concentration on tackling on the suicide

issue. It will be of big advantage globally if the right measures are taken and encouraged to

reduce or even terminate the suicide cases. How best to assess a suicidal person's risk remains

an elusive challenge for health professionals, so this is an appropriate goal for future research.

An ongoing issue in suicide prevention is the best way to achieve the balance between using

psychiatric medication to treat any underlying conditions that may lead to suicidal thoughts

and the potential side effects of such medications.

References

Baudelot, C., Establet, R., & Macey, D. (2008). Suicide : the hidden side of modernity.

Cambridge: Polity.

Moore, M. (2016). Durkheim's types of suicide and social capital: A cross‐national

comparison of 53 countries. International Social Science Journal, 66(219-220), 151-

161.

Pringle, B., Colpe, L., Heinssen, R., Schoenbaum, M., Sherrill, J., Claassen, C., & Pearson, J.

(2013). A strategic approach for prioritizing research and action to prevent suicide.

Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.), 64(1), 71-75.

Recker, N., & Moore, M. (2016). Durkheim, social capital, and suicide rates across US
counties. Health Sociology Review, 25(1), 78-91.

Thomas Joiner, J. (2005). Why people die by suicide. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University

Press.