Title: Frequently Asked Questions
Headings: Frequently Asked Questions
Together We Give Hope
Frequently Asked Questions
If someone is seriously contemplating suicide, do you really think it is possible for them to make a decision to live?
Will talking about suicide to a person make them suicidal?
Is talking about suicide, or threatening to kill yourself just a ploy to get attention?
If someone makes a suicide attempt, but does not die, is this just looking for attention?
If a person who was depressed and suicidal suddenly seems to feel better, does this mean they are no longer at risk for suicide?
If a person is suicidal, does this mean they will always be suicidal?
What are the warning signs that someone might be considering suicide?
What can we do if we think someone is suicidal?
Don’t suicides happen fast, and usually as the result of one sudden traumatic event, so that it is hard to prevent them?
What is the link between mental health and suicide?
Do ‘copycat suicides’ really occur?

Content: Don’t suicides happen fast, and usually as the result of one sudden traumatic event, so that it is hard to prevent them? Suicides can appear to happen fast, or “out of nowhere,” when we have not noticed any indications of a person’s suicidality. Although most people (80%) present a range of indicators to the people around them, few of us have been educated to recognize these warning signs and we miss them. Suicides are also rarely the result of a single traumatic loss or change. Usually, there are many contributing factors and events that have developed or occurred over a period of time. A sudden traumatic event may be the ‘trigger’ event that moves a person to end their life, but it is unlikely the only cause. It is likely that many suicides could be prevented if we educated ourselves about the immediate, short term, and long term indicators of suicidal risk, as well as how to reach out and get effective help for someone who is letting us know they are in serious distress. What is the link between mental health and suicide? Research suggests that 70 to 90 per cent of people who have made a lethal attempt, or died by suicide, were suffering from one or more unmanaged mental health issues – such as protracted depression or anxiety, bi-polarity, psychosis, and/or substance abuse. While the presence of an unmanaged mental health issue is strongly associated with suicide, it is important to note that most people assessed with a mental illness are not at risk of suicide, and that few suicides are wholly the result of a mental illness.