Title: Suicide Triggers
Headings: Suicide Triggers
Suicide Triggers
Content: Suicide Triggers
Suicide
Suicide Triggers
Suicide Triggers
In overly simplistic terms, suicidal thoughts and behaviors start when vulnerable individuals encounter stressful events, become overwhelmed, and conclude that suicide is the only reasonable way (given their very likely biased way of thinking) to stop the pain they are experiencing. Determining what makes events stressful is difficult because of the highly individual nature of human coping abilities and perspectives. What may seem relatively trivial to one person may seem devastating or insurmountable to another. Both negative and positive events can be sources of significant stress. Examples of events that cause positive stress include marriage, moving (when it is a desired move), having a child, and changing jobs (when that is desired). Examples of negatively stressful events include losses related to health, significant relationships and jobs, debts, peer pressure to be thin and beautiful, and similar difficult situations. Some suicidal individuals never quite developed the skills necessary to successfully cope with stressful situations and have personalities that are vulnerable to becoming overwhelmed by negative circumstance. Other suicidal individuals may have reasonable coping skills in place at one point, but find themselves worn down by circumstance to the point where they can no longer manage. The most frequent stressful event leading up to suicide (what is often called a precipitating event) in the US today is mental illness, which is estimated to account for about 90 percent of all suicides. As we discussed earlier, a newly diagnosed and/or poorly treated mental illness can trigger a suicide in some cases.