Suicide is complicated. So is prevention

I was 11 years old when I thought about killing myself for the first time.

Since then, I’ve struggled for more than a decade to overcome  suicidal ideations on a regular basis.

These thoughts and feelings can be triggered by some of the most minute things — breaking a mug, being rejected by a potential employer — things that could make anyone feel upset can throw me into a full-blown spiral. It’s one of the many things that I struggle with as someone with bipolar disorder.

It can feel as if I’m being smothered by a black cloak. Sometimes the feelings can pass as quickly as they came on; sometimes the darkness lingers for longer.

Reporting on mental health issues — like suicide prevention — has been cathartic for me.

In 2020, 45,979 people died by suicide in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s now considered to be the nation’s 10th-leading cause of death, and the second-leading cause of death for people 15 to 24, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Just last year, Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy issued a public health advisory in response to the rising rates of youth suicides.

But suicides are just the tip of the iceberg, according to Anthony Wood, interim chief executive and chief operating officer of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), one of the oldest suicide prevention organizations in the U.S. Association data show that 1.2 million people attempted suicide in 2019. The number of those who consider it but don’t act upon those thoughts is immeasurable.

What’s more, data collected from survivors of suicide attempts indicate that almost half of those who do make an attempt considered it for less than 20 minutes. A fourth of them considered it for less than five minutes.

Wood says suicide is associated with a number of causes: Mental illness, life stressors— and just wanting to stop the pain someone is experiencing. The reasons someone dies by suicide are just as unique as they are — which makes prevention and prediction a model, not a science.

Suicide prevention campaigns have been around for decades. Messaging like “know the signs” and “suicide is preventable” are meant to encourage hope with the goal of reducing rates of suicide.

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