• Question: What is the psychology behind suicide?

    Asked by anon-204902 to Sally, James, David, Dan on 14 Mar 2019.
    • Photo: James Munro

      James Munro answered on 14 Mar 2019:

      Hey Sana,

      First of all – if you or anyone else are having suicidal thoughts please seek help. One good number to call is the Samartians: 116 123

      The psychology of suicide is a long and very difficult topic. Suicide is an awful thing and has a big impact on the world left behind by the person who died. It is far too common, and men are much more likely to die of suicide than women. Different countries in the world have very different rates – but countries where people have lower income are more likely to have higher suicide rates. Suicide has always been an issue, and the causes differ throughout history and the world – for example committing suicide in Japan (seppuku) was seen as a way of keeping your honour after you made a big failure. While in catholic countries, suicide has been seen as ungodly and therefore likely to be punished in the afterlife.

      Today, in our country, suicide is really heavily researched and talked about. People who die from suicide often have a mental health disorder, have often lost someone they love recently, sometimes have had a recent period of stress and crisis, sometimes have poor physical health and sometimes are experiencing problems with money or at work.

      According to many studies, self-harm in teens and childhood does not make people more likely to commit suicide – it is not the same thing.

      Medical conditions, gambling, childhoos trauma and things like living conditions, available money, friends and family network, culture surrounding mental health – these all matter too.

      Thank you for the question. It is a difficult topic, so discussion and research are really necessary.

      Be well 🙂

    • Photo: Sally Tilt

      Sally Tilt answered on 14 Mar 2019:

      Thanks for asking about this – as James said – it is a tough topic to talk about – but talking about it is definitely helpful. It is really sad that in the past, suicide was linked to feelings of shame – which can make a tragic situation even tougher – so it is good news that people are now better at talking about feeling this way.

      There are a number of factors that can link to someone feeling that they want to take their own life – sometimes people sadly have thoughts about being a burden, and ending their life can feel like the best solution. I’ve had the privilege of speaking to some people who have felt that way in the past, they describe that at the time, the thoughts seemed to make a lot of sense to them – but now when they look back, they feel so differently about the situation, and they can see that the thoughts that they were having were not based on fact or truth. Sadly it isn’t always possible, but if we can support people while they are feeling very low, then hopefully they can over time feel better.

      If anyone reading this has experienced the loss of someone close to them, or is feeling low themselves, I’d really encourage you to speak to someone – either a friend or family member, or an organisation like the samaritans http://www.samaritans.org. You are not alone, and there will be people to support you.

    • Photo: Dan Taylor

      Dan Taylor answered on 14 Mar 2019:

      Suicide is definitely a topic that we need to be more open about. If anyone ever feels that way, I’d agree with James in getting in contact with someone if you do feel that way.
      Suicide can pose a serious problem, around 1.5% of all deaths per year are thought to be related to suicide, which doesn’t sound a lot but when you think that’s between 1 in 100 and 1 in 50. You certainly know 50 people and probably know 100. So it is actually a really high statistic for something so heartbreaking. Around 20% of teenagers also experience non-suicidal self injury so I do think its great you want to ask about these things, it’s part of how we can break down the stigma surrounding suicide. It is important to note that those who self harm may be no more likely to go on to commit suicide, I do think its an important bit on information that is worth knowing as it highlights the prevalence of self injury more widely!
      There does seem to be a sex difference with suicide, women are more likely to try but men are more likely to succeed. Which is why there has been a recent shift towards male mental health recently.
      We know that those with mental health problems are more likely to commit suicide, mental illness includes things like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. It also includes a disorder called Borderline Personality Disorder (sometimes called Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder), the disorder is characterised by emotional instability and impulsivity so its easy to see how a person with the condition may be at increased risk (around 10-20% of people with borderline attempt suicide thats 1 in 10 to 1 in 5 which is terrifying). This is why early intervention with mental health problems are so vital!
      Sexual minorities are also at increased risk of suicide. This may be due to things like stigma which often can destroy social relationships such as family and close friends. This can sometimes lead to loneliness which can be a driving force, alongside internalised hatred from the stigma that’s been inflicted on them, that’s why I think it’s so important to teach and learn more about sexual minority issues.
      There are tonnes of individual factors that might also be at play, such as genetic causes and social causes such as abuse and stress and loneliness. Whilst out understanding has come far, we still know relatively little about suicide, so I hope this is something that gets looked at in more detail as time goes on! It’s really important, particularly in those that may not have mental health problems!

    • Photo: David Chadwick

      David Chadwick answered on 14 Mar 2019:

      As a computer scientist I cannot really answer this one. Sorry.

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