Reading Room
Understanding and Helping
a Suicidal Person
MYTH: "You have to be crazy even to think about suicide."
FACT: Most people have thought of suicide form time-to-time. Most
suicides and suicide attempts are made by intelligent, temporarily confused
individuals who are expecting too much of themselves, especially in the midst
of a crisis.
MYTH: "Once a person has made a serious suicide attempt, that
person is unlikely to make another."
FACT: The opposite is often true. Persons who have made prior suicide
attempts may be at greater risk of actually committing suicide; for some,
suicide attempts may seem easier a second or third time.
MYTH: "If a person is seriously considering suicide, there is
nothing you can do."
FACT: Most suicide crises are time-limited and based on unclear
thinking. Persons attempting suicide want to escape from their problems.
Instead, they need to confront their problems directly in order to find other
solutions - solutions which can be found with the help of concerned individuals
who support them through the crisis period, until they are able to think more
clearly.
MYTH: "Talking about suicide may give a person the idea."
FACT: The crisis and resulting emotional distress will already have
triggered the thought in a vulnerable person. Your openness and concern in
asking about suicide will allow the person experiencing pain to talk about the
problem which may help reduce his or her anxiety. This may also allow the
person with suicidal thoughts to feel less lonely or isolated, and perhaps a
bit relieved.
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