It is important to understand that most suicides occur with those who have severe depression and substance abuse disorders. However, conditions such as bipolar disorder, anxiety, trauma-related disorders, and other personality disorders (borderline and antisocial) also raise a person’s risk for suicide significantly. Individuals with mood disorders, for instance, are about 25 times more likely to die by suicide compared to the general population. These suicides still often involve multiple underlying risk factors and typically occur in the context of a crisis event.
Other Risk Factors
- Previous suicide attempt
- Impulsive nature/behavior
- Aggressive/violent behavior
- History associated with abuse or trauma
- Family history of suicide
- Social isolation
- Overwhelming feelings of hopelessness
- Obsessive need for control
- Recent discharge from a psychiatric facility
- Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Drug abuse and alcoholism are particularly detrimental for a person who suffers from suicidal ideation. They inevitably add to one’s problems while also decreasing inhibition. Inflicting a devastating one-two punch. In other words, the complications brought on by addiction lead to increased emotional pain. While reduced inhibition diminishes their ability to make thoughtful decisions. There’s no doubt that mind-altering substances have often played a crucial role in whether someone followed through on suicidal thoughts or not. People do all kinds of things while intoxicated that they otherwise wouldn’t do sober. In the US, alcohol use is indicated as a factor in a quarter of all suicides.
Common Catalysts
- Major physical illness (chronic physical pain)
- Grave relationship issue (divorce, breakup, affair, death in family, etc.)
- Serious job or financial problems
- Personal loss of significance
- Serious legal issue
- Loss of sense of belonging
- Seeing oneself as a burden or failure
- Overwhelming guilt, shame, anger, or humiliation
Additional Detrimental Factors
- Access to highly lethal means (guns, prescription drugs, illegal drugs, etc.)
- Lack of health care support
- Sleep deprivation
- Influence from other suicides
- Cultural belief honoring suicide
- Factors that impede seeking support, such as shame, reputation, career ramifications, and ego.
This list of risk factors and catalysts is by no means all-encompassing, as suicidal behavior can have complex underlying causes. These are simply understood to be some of the most prevalent. To make this information more useful, think about it this way. When someone with any degree of suicidality and has any number of these risk factors, who then experiences a triggering event, it’s time to stay vigilant. This is a time to take proactive steps in suicide prevention and to prioritize overall well-being.
What are the feelings that accompany suicidal thoughts? It’s shame, humiliation, angst, guilt, despair, rejection, loneliness, anger, self-deprecation, and burdensomeness. All of these feelings cause psychological pain, which then results in physical pain. People who have survived serious attempts often report that it wasn’t about wanting to die; it was really about escaping emotional pain so extreme and seemingly unresolvable that death became the only answer they could see.