Title: Suicide Prevention: 10 Questions and Answers
Headings: Suicide Prevention – 10 Questions and Answers
Suicide Prevention – 10 Questions and Answers
1) How do you know someone might be suicidal?
2) What behaviors are warning signs for suicide?
3) If a person seems troubled, is it safe to ask if they are thinking about hurting themselves? Can asking increase the danger of suicide?
4) What kind of questions can you ask someone if you are worried about their mental health?
5) What if you are not sure what to make of the answer, or the person is resisting help?
6) If you ask someone “Have you thought about hurting yourself?” and the answer is yes, can you believe the answer?
7) What do you do with the answer? What do you do when you realize, for example, “my child just said: “I’ve thought about taking all the medicine in the cabinet….'”?
8) What if I suspect that my child is just being dramatic?
9) Isn’t suicide rare?
10) Who is at greatest risk of suicide?
Even If You Feel Hopeless, There Is Hope
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Content: Suicide is not nearly as rare as people think. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 24 — second only to accidental death. 10) Who is at greatest risk of suicide? No one is 100% immune to mental health conditions that can raise the risk of suicide. People who are experiencing depression are at risk for suicide. It can come with general depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ( PTSD ), and bipolar disorder. It can come with a number of other mental health conditions. Teens and young adults can experience emotions with greater intensity since their brain is not fully developed until the mid-20’s and may have difficulty regulating their thoughts and feelings within a range they can tolerate. In his book Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain, psychologist Daniel Siegel describes the “emotional spark” of adolescence, in which “emotions can arise rapidly and intensely with out the calming influence of the prefrontal cortex” (the reasoning part of the brain which redevelops during this time).