Dentistry has the highest rate of suicide by occupation, right?
According to the APA, studies show that occupation is not a predictor of suicide risk. In one study of suicide rates between 2001 and 2005, dentists did not make the top 30 at all, for men or women. However, female nurses made the list - at #30. Age, gender and ethnicity tend to pose more of a suicide threat than occupation (Link to the chart High-risk occupations for suicide). White Americans and Native Americans are more likely to commit suicide than those of other ethnicities in the US. In all age groups, men were more likely to commit suicide than women, although women were more likely to attempt suicide and fail.
According to the NIMH, "Older Americans are disproportionately likely to die by suicide," even though suicide was the third leading cause of death of people ages 15-24 in 2007. For example, 12.7 young adults age 20-24 of both genders, out of 100,000 committed suicide. At the same time, there were 47 suicides per 100,000 85+ year old white males. It goes without saying that most people who commit suicide are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. These are attempts at self medication that have apparently failed. Other risk factors include a history of abuse, chronic illness, chronic pain, family history of mental illness and/or suicide, and previous suicide attempts.
Suicidal ideation is just an attention getting tactic most of the time.
Sort of. Most of the time, suicidal ideation is a cry for help. The person disclosing these thoughts is in extreme distress and can think of no other option to relieve their suffering.
Life sucks. It's hard. Only cowards and weaklings "opt out."
If suicide is merely an act of cowardice, then so is pulling your hand away from a burning stove. Most people who commit suicide or express the desire to do so, are in extreme emotional pain and death seems to be the only relief possible. The fact is suicide is what makes some cases of mental illness terminal. Over 90% of people who commit suicide are afflicted with a major mental illness, including but not limited to major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and PTSD.
You just need to think positively. Cheer up! Stop being such a downer. Count your blessings! Think of all the people in the world who have it so much harder than you!
NO. Mental illness does not work that way. You cannot wish your way out of it. Disordered thinking is pathological and a symptom of an actual, real illness. Just because it isn't visible on the outside doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It's real, it's painful, it's disabling, IT KILLS PEOPLE. If someone had terminal cancer, you wouldn't tell them to think of all the people in the world who had worse diseases, would you?
Suicide is selfish.
Yes, it absolutely is. A person who can think only of suicide is thinking only of themselves. If you had a broken leg, you certainly would not be thinking of your family and friends. You would be thinking about nothing but the horrible pain you were in. Same concept, different pain.
If you keep guns out of homes, people will be less likely to kill themselves.
Yes and no. Firearms are linked to more COMPLETED suicides. Of course if there are access to guns, that will likely be the weapon of choice, and they are far more reliably lethal than almost anything else. If you keep guns out of homes, you keep people from shooting themselves, but there's always the rope in the garage or the aspirin in the medicine cabinet.
If we don't talk about it, people won't get the idea to kill themselves.
If you keep mental illness and thoughts of self harm or suicide under the covers, you're never going to know if someone close to you is ready to die. Talking about it is one of the first steps in preventing suicide.
You can't stop someone from killing themselves if they really want to.
Again, yes and no. If someone has confided suicidal thoughts to you, you CAN stop it by getting them help, because they've essentially begged for it. A situation like this is an emergency and should be treated as such. Do not leave them alone, call 911, get them to the ER, call a crisis line, and take away the means - guns, knives, medications, etc. They need the intervention of mental health professionals. There is always the possibility that they may walk out of the hospital and kick rocks on the train tracks until the 0315 comes along, but you can't control other people, and sometimes they're going to get their way.
I don't want this to seem like I am relieving suicide victims of all responsibility, because I'm not. People suffering from mental illnesses are unable to think clearly, but it's still up to the individual to choose to ask for help if they are capable, or to end it all.
I hope this was as much of an educational experience for you as it was a therapeutic experience for me. I've included links to my sources and other resources as well for further education.
Resources
American Association of Suicidology
http://www.afsp.org
National Institute of Mental Health
Suicide by profession: lots of confusion, inconclusive data
