Cause of suicide and suicidal behavior

Suicide is a form of behavioral and mental activity whose goal is voluntary self-destruction. Suicide is either a social act (fear of being a burden), or a rational one, carried out for moral reasons (fear of loss of honor), or a philosophical, religious act, determined by personal attitudes, as well as pathological manifestations of mental disorders (anxiety, affective, delusional, involutionary, etc. .) or is carried out during a period of acute existential crisis (crisis of existence - loss of the meaning of existence).

Suicide has several functions: avoiding a painful or unbearable situation, auto-aggression, calling for help (a common case when suicide is a challenge or a message to the environment). The latter case is often limited to attempts and has demonstrative blackmail behavior.

Causes

The main causes of suicide are the following factors: age after 45 years, severe mental disorders (depression, schizophrenia, dementia, delirium, hallucinosis, psychosis, dysphoria, psychopathy), recent divorce, death of a spouse, unemployed status, lack of family, incurable somatic diseases, loneliness . Up to 30% of suicide attempts are repeated, and 10% of them are carried out. According to statistics, suicide attempts are recorded 6 times more often than completed suicides themselves.

Suicidal risk is noted among the following groups: “loners”, young people with impaired interpersonal relationships; persons who abuse drugs or alcohol; individuals characterized by criminal or deviant behavior; people who are hypercritical of themselves; persons suffering from humiliation and tragic losses; teenagers experiencing frustration; persons who have been abandoned or who suffer from illness; individuals susceptible to neuroses.

Reasons for suicide

Psychologists note many factors that lead people to suicide:

• busy pace of life (constant rush);
• pessimism (a person sees the world in dark colors for a long time);
• long-term abuse (physical or mental rape);
• chronic disease (cancer, paralysis);
• mental disorder;
• death of a loved one;
• family troubles;
• a break up.

In addition, youth may experience suicidal thoughts due to difficulties in school, friendships with classmates, unrequited love, frequent resentment and depression. Experts note that when teenagers do not want to deal with problems, they lose hope. Their heart is filled with hopelessness and helplessness. In fact, young people do not want to die. They see suicide only as a real way out of their problems.

The causes of suicide and suicidal behavior are many and depend on the individual as well as the type of mental disorder. Mentally completely healthy people who could not withstand external or intrapersonal conflicts and found salvation in such a radical method also commit suicide.

The foundation for the formation of an individual’s suicidal behavior is unfavorable heredity – a genetic predisposition to psychotic reactions. Along with such hereditary conditioning, the basis for the appearance of abnormal destructive thinking is the problematic period of personal maturation.

This is the situation when a child grew up in an asocial environment, was brought up in excessive severity or, conversely, complete indulgence. When a person’s needs were ignored in childhood, his rights were violated, his dignity was humiliated. When a little person regularly suffered bullying from his peers, did not meet with understanding from his parents, did not feel love and attention.

Against the background of such a picture of problematic growing up, a personality is formed that has defects in its characterological portrait and suffers from various inferiority complexes. It is in the presence of flaws in the personality structure that any factor - external or internal, intensely and spontaneously arising or acting for a long time - can become the cause of the development of suicidal behavior.

It has been established that most often suicides are committed by people who have never been married. Among the leading causes of suicide attempts, experts name the following “family” factors:

• lack of mutual understanding in the family;
• frequent quarrels and conflicts with relatives;
• immoral habits of the spouse;
• drunkenness and drug addiction of a partner;
• betrayal and betrayal of a loved one;
• problems with children;
• forced cohabitation with elderly people who have severe mental disabilities or an incurable somatic illness;
• disdainful attitude on the part of the spouse, his bullying, moral pressure, assault;
• divorce or separation from a partner;
• death of a close relative;
• serious illness of a spouse or children.

The cause of suicide can be unsuccessful love, sexual or physical violence experienced, or regular bullying by peers. Failures in educational activities, failures of creative projects, difficulties in the professional sphere can also push a person to suicide.

The cause of suicidal behavior is the oppressive feeling of loneliness experienced. Social isolation, forced withdrawal from society, lack of full contacts in the human community can cause thoughts of suicide in the subject. The causes of suicide also include the individual’s exposure to extreme conditions, in which an adequate person simply cannot survive.

The cause of suicide can also be a person’s financial problems: bankruptcy of an enterprise, loss of a job, inability to find a job, difficult loan obligations, loss of a source of income. A sudden change in social status and loss of authority in society can lead to the edge of an abyss. Unemployed people and low-skilled workers have a high risk of committing suicide.

Very often, the cause of suicide is incorrect and tactless actions of close associates, for example: disclosure of confidential information about the subject’s sexual orientation. Slander, deliberate mental trauma, and systematic humiliation of one’s dignity can lead to a decision to commit suicide.

The trigger for voluntary death can be a severe somatic illness, especially incurable cancer with intense pain. The cause of suicidal actions is recent surgical operations. People who have congenital or acquired deformities, people with disabilities, who are wheelchair-bound and have no chance of recovery are prone to committing suicide.

• lesions of the cardiovascular system;
• diseases of the musculoskeletal system;
• diseases of the genitourinary system, in particular the presence of an artificial kidney;
• HIV infections;
• chronic lung pathologies, for example: bronchial asthma;
• multiple sclerosis;
• systemic lupus erythematosus;
• ulcerative lesions of the digestive system.

The risk of suicide increases in people who take corticosteroids, typical antipsychotics, antihypertensive drugs, and some anticancer drugs.

The cause of suicidal behavior is various mental disorders, for example: prolonged depression. The risk of suicide is especially high in patients with bipolar affective disorder. Suicidal risk is present in patients with panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, drug addiction, and schizophrenia.

Very often, the reason for the appearance of thoughts of suicide is the subject’s satiety with life. The lack of a clear goal, limited horizons, lack of hobbies, and reluctance to develop one’s personality form a kind of “tiredness” from life.

Often suicides are committed due to the dominant ideas in a person of his own worthlessness and guilt. For some, the act of suicide is a unique way of “cleansing” the soul from the oppressive feeling of guilt. Suicides are often committed under the fear of exposure and subsequent punishment, when a person is afraid of responsibility for his obscene or illegal actions.

Among teenagers, a common cause of suicide is the desire to demonstrate their “maturity”, the desire to gain popularity among their peers. Many young suicides said goodbye to life to imitate famous people. There is an increased risk of suicide among adolescents serving sentences in prison.

Personal factors that create the basis for suicidal behavior have also been well studied. Most people who have attempted suicide have a psychasthenic personality type. Such people have an inadequate opinion about their person - either too low or, conversely, excessively high self-esteem is recorded.

They have reduced resistance to mental and mental stress. They are distinguished by perfectionism, an inability to compromise, and a tendency to fixate on details. Individuals prone to suicide are impulsive, suspicious, impressionable, and easily suggestible. They have difficulty adapting to the changes that are taking place. Many subjects have ideas of their own inferiority and worthlessness. They are pessimistic about their past and have no concrete plans.

Signs of suicide

Up to 75% of people who intended to commit suicide disclosed their intentions. These were sometimes subtle hints or easily recognizable threats. I would like to note that according to statistics, 3/4 of those who committed suicide visited psychologists, doctors, teachers, and social service workers. They were looking for an opportunity to speak out and also to be listened to, but did not get what they wanted.

Signs of suicide are revealed in a person after a conversation and are manifested in ambivalence (duality) of feelings. Suicidal individuals experience hopelessness and at the same time hope for salvation. Often their desires for and against suicide are balanced, so it is important for loved ones to show care, warmth, and insight at these moments. If this is not done, the scales will tilt towards suicide. Therefore, it is important to know the signs of suicide. Tendencies toward suicidal behavior are distinguished from personality type. In 36%, suicidal acts are committed by individuals with hysterical disorders, 33% are committed by infantile labile individuals, and 13% by individuals with asthenic traits.

Signs of impending suicide may include suicidal threats, self-aggression, parasuicide (unfinished attempt). A person has a lack of appetite or, on the contrary, gluttony, increased drowsiness or insomnia during the week, complaints of pain in the stomach and head, fatigue, frequent drowsiness, neglect of oneself, as well as appearance, constant feelings of guilt, worthlessness, loneliness or sadness, feeling of boredom, isolation from family, friends, withdrawal from contacts, immersion in thoughts about death, sudden attacks of anger, lack of plans for the future.

If a person has planned to commit suicide, then this is evidenced by the following characteristic signs: behavioral, verbal, situational. Verbal signs include the following formulations and sayings: “I can’t continue to live like this,” “I’m going to commit suicide,” “Don’t worry about me anymore,” “I won’t be a problem for everyone anymore,” “I don’t want to live,” “How hard it is to live,” “I’m tired of life,” “I want peace.” People joke a lot about suicide and also show an unhealthy interest in the issue of death.

Behavioral signs include distributing personal belongings, putting things in order in personal affairs, papers, establishing relationships and making peace with enemies, radical changes in behavior: sloppiness, gluttony or malnutrition, oversleeping or insomnia, absences from work, school, excessive activity, indifference to the environment the world, a feeling of alternating sudden euphoria, helplessness, hopelessness, despair.

Situational signs are marked by social isolation, absence of children, rejection, family crisis, alcoholism, personal or family problem, feeling like a victim of violence: intimate, physical, emotional, self-criticism, loss of a loved one.

Classification of suicidal behavior

Of the many classifications of suicidal behavior, attempts related to goals and reasons are of interest.

There are three types of suicidal actions:

• True: carefully planned actions, which are preceded by the formation of appropriate statements and behavior; the decision is made on the basis of long thoughts about the meaning of life, purpose, the futility of existence; signs of suicidal behavior dominate; other emotions and character traits remain in the shadows, and the goal of dying is achieved.
• Demonstrative: suicide attempts resemble theatrical action and can be a way of dialogue with loved ones. The signs of demonstrative suicidal behavior are that they are produced with the viewer in mind, and their goal is to attract attention, to be heard, and to receive help. Death is possible due to poor judgment.
• Masked: suicidal behavior of minors involves indirect methods of suicide - extreme sports, high-speed driving, dangerous travel, use of psychotropic substances; More often than not, the real goal is not fully realized.

Deviant behavior suicide

Behavior that does not correspond to accepted norms is classified as deviant. In his work “Sadness and Melancholia,” S. Freud, analyzing suicide, noted that a person exists on the basis of two main drives. The first is Eros - the instinct of life and the second is Thanatos - the instinct of death.

V. Frankl believed that a suicide is not afraid of death, but is afraid of life. Psychologists claim that individuals come to such deviant behavior because they believe that the external environment pays little attention to them.

Deviant behavior is mainly observed in adolescents (from 12 to 16 years old), who try to deviate from society in order to prove to the world what they are capable of. Of the majority of ways to die, many choose hanging, followed by poisoning. Up to 50% of people leave suicide notes. Interesting fact: standard of living does not affect the number of suicides.

Suicidal actions are preceded by a period that is marked by a decrease in adaptive abilities (decreased academic performance, limited communication, level of interests, emotional instability, increased irritability). This period is characterized by the following thoughts and desires: “I’m tired of this life,” “I wish I could fall asleep and not wake up.” This stage is characterized by ideas and fantasies about one’s death. The second stage is marked by suicidal thoughts. It is characterized by the development of suicidal plans, thinking through the methods, time and place of committing suicide. The third stage is characterized by suicidal intentions and a suicide attempt.

Teen suicide

Teenage suicide is the deliberate taking of one’s own life, which some teenagers commit when they find themselves in difficult life situations.

Teenage suicide has always been an area of ​​study among psychologists and educators, since adolescence is considered a difficult stage in the development of personality. What could be more wonderful and beautiful than youth. This is a time of hope, as well as planning for the future. However, on the other hand, this period also acts as a growing up, which does not go smoothly for anyone, and in exceptional cases, adolescents attempt suicide.

Suicide in adolescence is caused by the following reasons: conflicts with parents, as well as friends, family situations, humiliation from teenagers, and loneliness. These situations often arise in single-parent and dysfunctional families. Currently, they note the influence of mass culture, which replicates the “suicide virus”: imitation of characters from films, animation, and book characters. The following reasons are: depression, abuse of alcohol, toxic and narcotic substances.

Teenage suicide can be triggered by the suicide of a loved one or the death of a relative. If teenagers are not doing well in school, if a girl has been raped, or if there is an early pregnancy. Extraordinary, talented teenagers who do not fit into society are prone to suicidal behavior. Increased vulnerability, as well as the feeling of teenagers as outcasts, pushes them to take this desperate step.

What suicide is and how to avoid it must be taught to children and adolescents as early as possible. Most parents avoid this topic, thinking that this problem will not affect their children.

The problem of suicide

Cases of suicide have been repeatedly noted in historical documents throughout human history. Facts of suicide were mentioned in the sources of ancient Greece, the history of Ancient China and Rome. Suicide is currently ranked among the ten leading causes of death in the West. According to statistics, up to 160 thousand people in the world commit suicide every year, and a significant part is teenage suicide. A significant proportion of people in the world make unsuccessful suicide attempts, and up to a million of them are teenagers. Unsuccessful suicide is called parasuicide.

The problem of suicide among adolescents is one of the most pressing in modern society. Adolescence represents for children themselves a “global” problem that cannot be solved for them, therefore it is easier and simpler for adolescents to commit suicide than to solve the problem in any other way.

Each teenager has his own personal reasons that influence the emergence of suicidal intentions. Young people rarely suffer from fatal diseases, so suicide has become the third cause of death in this age group. Surveys of teenagers found that half of them thought about suicide. In general, the situation around the world is such that the suicide rate is constantly increasing. Research has shown that 70% of teenagers who have tried have abused alcohol or drugs.

The problem of suicide and its study showed that young people decided to commit suicide in order to attract the attention of parents and teachers to their problems and thus protested against the cynicism, indifference, callousness, and cruelty of adults.

Vulnerable, withdrawn teenagers who experience loneliness and feel their own uselessness, experience stress, and have lost the meaning of life decide to take such an action.

Teen suicide prevention

Prevention of suicide among adolescents includes timely psychological support, kind participation and assistance in difficult life situations. It is important to take into account that teenagers are very sensitive, dramatic, and maliciously react to current events due to their age, so the likelihood of suicide attempts during stress increases.

The problem of suicide also lies in the strong suggestibility of adolescents, as well as their imitation of other people who want to commit suicide, which creates new ground for suicide attempts. There are misconceptions and myths about suicide among teenagers. Some young people think that suicide is a heroic and beautiful act. The teenager imagines how his relatives and friends will grieve for him, and also reproach himself for his action. In his imagination, the teenager sees a beautiful, young body in a coffin. However, in real life everything is different.

Forensic experts testify that a significant proportion of suicide attempts end not in easy death, but in severe injuries and disability. What's really going on? Hanging leads to prolonged agony, profuse and foul-smelling vomiting, and relaxation of the anal sphincters, as well as the urethra. The contents of the intestines leak out, the person ends up in excrement, and a puddle is discovered underneath. There are severe hematomas throughout the body (cadaverous spots, bruises), especially on the legs. Often a cervical vertebra is broken, and the patient has a huge blue tongue sticking out to the side, which is difficult to push back. If a person falls from a height, he turns into minced meat and often a fall from a great height does not lead to death or does not occur immediately, and is accompanied by wild, terrible pain caused by crushed bones and crushed organs, as well as muscles.

Prevention of teenage suicides includes stories, as well as confidential conversations about the consequences of suicidal intentions, as well as timely provision of psychological assistance to a teenager, solving his problem, and not fencing him off from it.

It is much easier to prevent suicide among teenagers if the child is suggestible, reads a lot, respects and trusts the adults in his environment. Find interesting literature, accessible to teenagers, about the meaning of life, liberation from attachments and getting out of depression. One of the reasons that increases suicidal desire is an analysis of the reasons that provoke this condition. We advise you to refrain from this, since delving into memories makes you experience unpleasant moments, and negative experiences only worsen your psychological state.

It is difficult to explain to a teenager why injustice occurs, disappointment occurs, hopes are crushed, and the meaning of life is lost. Explain to your teen that the amount of suffering in life directly reflects the gap between what we have and what we crave. Being insatiable, addiction creates suffering, causing emotional anguish. Along with addiction, painful companions are observed: destructive emotions - jealousy, anger, depression. Destructive emotions are closely related to addiction and express how it affects us. The teenager is often afraid that he will not get what he is attached to and boils with anger at anyone who stands in his way, is tormented by jealousy of love or of people who have what he craves, and becomes depressed if he loses hope. The struggle to satisfy attachments leads to the fact that a teenager will never be satisfied, but as soon as he frees himself from attachment, he will immediately find peace, happiness, and harmony. This applies to drug addiction, alcohol addiction or unrequited love.

Second stage - statements

When a person has formed a persistent image in his thoughts that the solution to all his problems is death, he moves on to the next stage - statements. This is a taste test of thought. A test of her viability beyond herself and another test of how the world would react. The person seems to be looking for evidence that he is on the right path and there are no other opportunities to get out of the circle of problems. In a conversation, he can reflect on death, hopelessness, and the meaninglessness of life. A common message that comes from people thinking about suicide is “nobody needs me,” “it will be better without me,” “life is meaningless.”

Sometimes people contemplating suicide may talk or write about their intentions directly. And then you can hear: “I want to die” or “I don’t want to live anymore”, “It’s better to die”, “I’ll throw myself off the roof (drown myself, cut my veins, etc.)”, “I can’t do this anymore” , “I won’t be a problem anymore.” He can ask about death and methods of suicide, talk about this topic and even joke, choosing the most painless or fastest method. In queries on the Internet, topics related to statistics, methods, and suicide groups may appear.

Important! Speaking about suicide, a person, on the one hand, wants to convince himself of this, but on the other hand, he wants to be convinced of the opposite.

He is looking for those who will tell him, or better yet show by their actions, that they need him. Without fear, he will respect his feelings, he will be able to be close, he will be able to share and understand them. Children and adolescents may have many questions about death, but it is important to remember that there was a first stage and it did not go away, i.e. the signs remained.

For example, if a child of five to seven years old or a teenager is interested in the topic of death, but at the same time he is in a great mood, he is active, calm in communication, and there are no signs described above, then this is normal. This is typical for children of this age and adolescents. But, if there are signs of the first stage, then you should pay special attention and still contact a psychologist.

Love and suicide

Unhappy love and suicide, according to statistics, have a very small percentage, but are more often observed among teenagers who are maximalists. Often individuals with low self-esteem gravitate toward love suicidal addiction. A distinctive feature of dependent people is the lack or absence of self-love. And when such love addicts are abandoned by their beloved objects, then suffering becomes unbearable for them, self-esteem falls even lower, depression completely consumes them, life loses its meaning and inspires suicidal thoughts.

In the causes of torment, the sufferer sees both evil fate and the object of love, as well as the entire opposite sex, not suspecting that he himself is the source of suffering. Depending on his internal state, a person fills his life with either suffering or joy. A dependent person becomes so addicted and fixated on another person that life without him becomes not a joy, which provokes suicide after parting with a loved one.

Suicide way out

It is necessary to tell the person that there is definitely a way out in the current difficult situation. In a difficult situation, you should look at your problem from the outside, and if it doesn’t work out, then you should turn to people you trust for help.

These will not necessarily be the teenager’s parents. If parents always criticize, then most likely they will follow a similar scenario and will not be able to provide qualified psychological assistance. This is especially true for the manifestation of first feelings, falling in love, since suicide due to love is a leading cause of suicide. In this case, only psychologists can help teenagers competently. Parents do not always share their child’s passion for the opposite sex; they often interfere and prohibit, which increases the attraction to their chosen one. And in this case, it is necessary to show understanding, tact, patience, and respect for the teenager’s first feeling, which is so important to him.

Suicide in facts

Suicide is the intentional termination of one's own life or suicide. This is a destructive form of behavior whose goal is voluntary self-destruction. Today, suicide is one of the 10 most common causes of death in the world. Every year more than 1 million people die due to suicide. And only one in five people who have suicidal thoughts tell others about it.

Reasons for suicide

The World Health Organization has identified more than 800 causes of suicide. At the same time, about 40% remain unknown. 20% of people commit suicide due to fear of punishment. And approximately 18% kill themselves due to mental illness, and the same number die due to difficulties in family relationships. About 6% of people who commit suicide do so out of passion. And 3% decide to commit suicide due to financial losses.

When thoughts of suicide arise, there is no need to wait for your state of mind to improve. As soon as you notice signs of depression and have a desire to die, immediately contact a specialist. Qualified psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists at the Transfiguration clinic will help you get out of this depressing state in the shortest possible time.