Mental Health Hotline Numbers and Referral Resources

HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

Mental Health hotline numbers for everything from alcohol treatment to panic disorder. Also National Alliance on Mental Illness -state affiliate phone list.

Mental Health hotline numbers for everything from alcohol treatment to panic disorder. Also National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and Mental Health America (MHA) state affiliate websites.

Suicide Hotline Phone Numbers

If you feel suicidal or you're in a crisis situation and need immediate assistance, people at these suicide hotlines in the U.S. are there to help. We have additional suicide information and resources here.

  • 988 - Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (The old number will work indefinitely; it is 1-800-273-TALK [8255])
  • 988, option 1 - VA Crisis Line
  • 1-800-784-2433 (1-800-SUICIDE) - National Hopeline Network
  • 1-866-488-7386 (1-866-4.U.TREVOR aimed at gay and questioning youth)

Just a note: These are resources that we have come across that may prove helpful to you. Please understand, we ARE NOT recommending or endorsing any of them. It is up to you to determine if they offer something you need and whether or not it is appropriate for your situation.

Hotline Numbers

Domestic Abuse and Child Abuse Hotline

Drug and Alcohol

Eating Disorders

Learning Disabilities and ADHD

Mental Health Crisis Lines / Suicide Hotlines

Rape and Sexual Assault

STD / AIDS

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

1-800-950-NAMI (6264)
www.nami.org

NAMI State List:

 

Mental Health America (MHA)

(800) 969-6642
www.mentalhealthamerica.net

Mental Health America State List:

 

Non-Profit Groups for Illnesses & Disorders Government Agencies

More Information on Mental Health by Topic

AIDS

ALCOHOL and DRUG ABUSE

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

ANXIETY / PANIC

  • Panic Disorder Information Hotline -- 1-800-64-PANIC

BIPOLAR and DEPRESSION

CHRONIC PAIN

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

EATING DISORDERS

GAMBLING

LGBTQ+

  • GLBT National Help Center
    Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender national hotline
    1-888-THE-GLNH (1-888-843-4564)
    https://www.glbthotline.org/

MENTAL HEALTH

SELF-HARM/SELF-ABUSE

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES

SUBSTANCE ABUSE/RECOVERY

For problems, issues or illnesses not listed above, contact the following:

Child Abuse and Neglect

  • National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
    1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)
    703-235-3900
    www.missingkids.com

  • Child Help USA
    Info & referrals to local agencies; crisis counseling. Info & referrals to local agencies; crisis counseling.
    1-800-4-A-CHILD (24 hrs)
    www.childhelp.org/

  • National Council on Child Abuse & Family Violence
    Info & referrals on child abuse & other types of family violence. Visit the website for your local toll-free numbers.
    www.nccafv.org/

  • Child Welfare Information Gateway
    www.childwelfare.gov/

  • Stop It Now1
    Prevention of sexual abuse of children
    1-800-PREVENT confidential line
    www.stopitnow.org

  • Health Resources and Service Administration
    The HRSA Information Center provides publications, information, resources, and referrals about health care services
    www.ask.hrsa.gov

  • National Center for Education in Maternal & Child Health
    www.ncemch.org

  • National Center for Victims of Crime
    Resource and advocacy for crime victims. Stalking and dating violence resource centers
    http://victimsofcrime.org/

Missing Children

  • Child Find of America
    Prevention and resolution of child abduction
    1-800-I AM LOST
    www.childfindofamerica.org

  • National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
    Hotline: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)
    703-235-3900
    www.missingkids.com

  • National Runaway Switchboard
    Keeps America's runaway and at-risk kids safe and off the streets
    1-800-RUNAWAY
    https://www.1800runaway.org/

Youth Issues/Problem Parenting

  • Covenant House NineLine
    Referrals for youth or parents re: drugs, homelessness, runaways, etc. Message relays, reports of abuse. Helps parents with problems with their kids. If all counselors are busy, stay on the line & one will be with you as soon as possible.
    1-800-999-9999 (24 hrs)
    https://www.covenanthouse.org/

NIH'S INSTITUTES

If you come across a group, organization or another resource you think should be listed here, please email us with the info. Also, if there's something we need to update, please let us know.

Crisis Lines Outside the U.S.

Country Hotline organization Website Phone number
Argentina Centro de Asistencia al Suicida www.asistenciaalsuicida.org (011) 5275-1135
Australia Lifeline Australia www.lifeline.org 13 11 14
Austria TelefonSeelsorge Österreich www.telefonseelsorge.at 142
Belgium Centre de Prévention du Suicide www.preventionsuicide.be 0800 32 123
Belgium CHS Helpline www.chsbelgium.org 02 648 40 14
Belgium Zelfmoord 1813 www.zelfmoord1813.be 1813
Brazil Centro de Valorização da Vida www.cvv.org 188
Canada Crisis Services Canada crisisservicescanada.ca 833-456-4566
Chile Ministry of Health of Chile www.hospitaldigital.gob 6003607777
China Beijing Suicide Research and Prevention Center www.crisis.org 800-810-1117
Costa Rica Colegio de Profesionales en Psicología de Costa Rica psicologiacr.com/aqui-estoy 2272-3774
France SOS Amitié www.sos-amitie.org 09 72 39 40 50
Germany TelefonSeelsorge Deutschland www.telefonseelsorge.de 0800 1110111
Hong Kong Suicide Prevention Services www.sps.org 2382 0000
India iCall Helpline icallhelpline.org 9152987821
Ireland Samaritans Ireland www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help 116 123
Israel [Eran] ער"ן www.eran.org 1201
Italy Samaritans Onlus www.samaritansonlus.org 800 86 00 22
Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology www.mext.go.jp 81-0120-0-78310
Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan www.mhlw.go 0570-064-556
Malaysia Befrienders KL www.befrienders.org 03-76272929
Netherlands 113Online www.113.nl 0800-0113
New Zealand Lifeline Aotearoa Incorporated www.lifeline.org 0800 543 354
Norway Mental Helse mentalhelse.no 116 123
Pakistan Umang Pakistan www.umang.com.pk/ 0311-7786264
Philippines Department of Health - Republic of the Philippines doh.gov.ph/NCMH-Crisis-Hotline 0966-351-4518
Portugal SOS Voz Amiga www.sosvozamiga.org

213 544 545

963 524 660

912 802 669
Russia Фонд поддержки детей, находящихся в трудной жизненной ситуации [Fund to Support Children in Difficult Life Situations] www.ya-roditel.ru 8-800-2000-122
Singapore Samaritans of Singapore www.sos.org 1-767
South Africa South African Depression and Anxiety Group www.sadag.org 0800 567 567
South Korea 중앙자살예방센터[Korea Suicide Prevention Center] www.spckorea.or 1393
Spain Teléfono de la Esperanza www.telefonodelaesperanza.org 717 003 717
Switzerland Die Dargebotene Hand www.143.ch 143
Taiwan 国际生命线台湾总会 [International Lifeline Taiwan Association] www.life1995.org 1995
Ukraine Lifeline Ukraine lifelineukraine.com 7333
United Kingdom Samaritans www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help 116 123
United States 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 988lifeline.org 988

APA Reference
Staff, H. (2022, January 10). Mental Health Hotline Numbers and Referral Resources, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 10 from https://www.healthyplace.com/other-info/resources/mental-health-hotline-numbers-and-referral-resources

Last Updated: December 18, 2023

High-Suicide Families Eyed By Genetic Scientists

Natasha Tracy

Suicide can run in families, but psychiatrists aren't sure whether high-suicide families are plagued by genetic inheritance or learned behavior.

Allen Boyd Jr. watched suicide burn its way through his family.

First was his mother, with a .38 caliber handgun in a hotel room; then his brother, with a shotgun in the basement; then his second brother, poisoned in a boarding house; then his pretty sister, dead in her master bedroom. Then, three years ago, his father turned a gun on himself, leaving Allen Boyd Jr. alone with a dark history.

Worried About the Suicide Gene

Boyd has never loaded a gun, never stuck one in his mouth. At 45, the North Carolina man thinks about meeting a "really jolly woman" and starting a family. But he knows, too, that he is a Boyd: For a while after his father's death, the thoughts crept into his head every five minutes, repeating themselves, disrupting his sleep.

"It's in me," he said.

Psychiatrists agree now on a point that was long debated: Suicide can run in families. They do not know, however, how this risk is transferred from one family member to another -- whether it is "learned" behavior, passed on through a grim emotional ripple effect, or a genetic inheritance, as some scientists theorize. But new research published this week in the American Journal of Psychiatry prepares ground for a genetic search, suggesting that the trait that links high-suicide families is not simply mental illness, but mental illness combined with a more specific tendency to "impulsive aggressiveness."

"It gets us beyond the witchcraft argument, that you're a walking time bomb," said Dr. J. Raymond DePaulo, a Johns Hopkins psychiatrist and prominent suicide researcher.

At stake in this discussion is the hope that doctors could intervene more effectively if they could identify risk factors. Dr. David Brent, the study's lead author, was launched on a career researching suicide while he was working on an adolescent psychiatric ward where a very common professional judgment call was determining which children were suicidal. One day, after he had sent one girl to a psychiatric ward and another home, the father of one girl confronted him angrily, asking what he had seen in one girl and not the other. Brent, now a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, realized he had no good answer.

"I found myself, and the field, bereft of knowledge," he said. "It was like the toss of a coin."

Suicide on the Brain

In recent years, researchers have edged closer to a physiological marker of suicide. When analyzed after death, the brains of people who committed suicide show a low level of a metabolite of seratonin, a neurotransmitter that is involved in the control of impulses. But although a seratonin deficiency may mark a heightened risk of suicide -- as much as 10 times what is normal -- that discovery is useless to clinicians, since it would require patients to undergo a spinal tap.

As they search for genetic commonality, researchers are drawn to those rare, unlucky families who have suffered from rashes of suicide.

When Margaux Hemingway's overdose death was ruled a suicide in 1996, she was the fifth member of her family to kill herself in four generations -- after her grandfather, the novelist Ernest Hemingway; his father, Clarence; Ernest's sister, Ursula, and his brother, Leicester.

Other clusters have been sought by researchers. Among the Old Order Amish, researchers from the University of Miami found that half the suicides of the last century -- they numbered only 26 -- could be traced to two extended families, and 73 percent of them could be traced to four families that made up only 16 percent of the population. The clustering could not be explained by mental illness alone, since other families carried risks for mental illness but no risk for suicide.

The successive studies have shed little light on what differentiates them from their more resilient neighbors -- and whether the differences are sociological, psychological, or genetic, said one suicidologist. Most specialists say that many factors interact to cause suicide.

"It's impossible to differentiate [between causes]. When you have a family history that is quite profound, how do you rule out the fact that you have one deceased parent and a second parent bereaved?" said Dr. Alan Berman, president of the American Society for Suicide Prevention. "We'll be arguing this for the next hundred years."

For Boyd, as for many survivors, the genetic explanation is less important than the long, bitter reverberation of his mother's death.

When his mother shot herself in a hotel room, Boyd said, the family splintered in their reactions: Although his father bitterly criticized her act, his brother Michael immediately said he wanted to be with her, and shot himself, at 16, a month later. Michael's twin, Mitchell, followed suit in a long series of attempts, including an attempt to throw himself off of the tallest building in Asheville, N.C., and was ultimately diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He died in a boarding house at age 36, after drinking toxic chemicals.

Boyd's sister, Ruth Ann, got married and gave birth to a boy, Ian, who was 2 years old when -- for reasons that are still unclear -- she shot the baby and then herself. She was 37. Four months later, Allen Boyd Sr. was dead, also by his own hand.

Boyd said he has made three suicide attempts himself.

"She planted a seed in each and every one of us. My mother's act gave us all the option," said Boyd, who was featured in a series in the Asheville Citizen-Times and is writing a memoir, "Family Tradition: The Suicide of One American Family."

"Human beings are a pack animal, and we depend on each other," said Boyd, a towering man with a twangy, story-telling voice. "If I can just get that message across to people, maybe we can put a dent on this suicide thing. If you can just drag your butt through your sorry lives, don't put your family through this."

Suicide More Than Just A Genetic Trait

Scientists, though, say the trait passed between family members goes beyond the suffering of a household into the deep coding of genes. As he embarked on his most recent study, Brent was already searching for a secondary trait -- something beyond mental illness -- that connects suicidal families. His results, he said, encourage him on the genetic route. Brent's team looked at individuals, their siblings, and their offspring, and found that the offspring of the 19 suicidal parents who also had suicidal siblings were at sharply higher suicide risk themselves. They attempted suicide, on average, eight years before their counterparts with less of a family history.

Although they looked at secondary traits such as abuse, adversity, and psychopathology, researchers found that the most predictive trait by far was "impulsive aggression." The obvious next step, Brent said, would be to identify genes that dictate impulsive aggression.

"We're looking for the trait that's really behind the trait," said Brent. "You're more likely to be able to map genes to those behaviors."

In the fractious field of suicidology, not everyone agrees that genes will supply useful answers. Edwin Shneidman, the 85-year-old founder of the American Association of Suicidology, said the field has perennially been riven by "conceptual turf wars" -- but that at the moment, biochemical explanations may hold sway over sociological, cultural, or psychodynamic theories.

"If you take the phrase 'suicide runs in families,' no one is going to say that points to or implicates a genetic etiology. French runs in families. Common sense tells us that French is not inherited," Shneidman said. "Each family has its history, its mystique. Some families say 'We've been drunks for generations.' Some families say this with some pride."

For his part, Allen Boyd Jr. has improved with psychotherapy and medical treatment for depression. These days, he feels confident enough to contemplate the interesting possibility of one more generation of Boyds.

"My family raised and showed dogs and cats. I do know a little bit about breeding," said Boyd. "If I breed with a woman that's cheerful and positive and always looking to smell the roses, it's possible I could kick this thing."

Source: The Boston Globe

APA Reference
Tracy, N. (2022, January 10). High-Suicide Families Eyed By Genetic Scientists, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 10 from https://www.healthyplace.com/depression/articles/high-suicide-families-eyed-by-genetic-scientists

Last Updated: January 16, 2022

Why Do People Kill Themselves?

Samantha Gluck

Answers to questions about suicide, suicidal thoughts, depression and suicide, why people kill themselves, and more.

Why do people kill themselves?

Most of the time people who kill themselves are very sick with depression or one of the other types of depressive illnesses, which occur when the chemicals in a person's brain get out of balance or become disrupted in some way. Healthy people do not kill themselves. A person who has depression does not think like a typical person who is feeling good. Their illness prevents them from being able to look forward to anything. They can only think about now and have lost the ability to imagine into the future.

Many times they don't realize they are suffering from a treatable illness and they feel they can't be helped. Seeking help may not even enter their mind. They do not think of the people around them, family or friends, because of their illness. They are consumed with emotional, and many times, physical pain that becomes unbearable. They don't see any way out. They feel hopeless and helpless. They don't want to die, but it's the only way they feel their pain will end. It is a non-rational choice. Getting depression is involuntary - no one asks for it, just like people don't ask to get cancer or diabetes. But, we do know that depression is a treatable illness. That people can feel good again!

Please remember - Depression, plus alcohol or drug use can be lethal. Many times people will try to alleviate the symptoms of their illness by drinking or using drugs. Alcohol and/or drugs will make the disease worse! There is an increased risk for suicide because alcohol and drugs decrease judgment and increase impulsivity.

Do people who attempt suicide do it to prove something? To show people how bad they feel and to get sympathy?

They don't do it necessarily to prove something, but it certainly is a cry for help, which should never be ignored. This is a warning to people that something is terribly wrong. Many times people cannot express how horrible or desperate they're feeling - they simply cannot put their pain into words. There is no way to describe it. A suicide attempt must always be taken seriously. People who have attempted suicide in the past may be at risk for trying it again and possibly completing it, if they don't get help for their depression.

Can a suicidal person mask their depression with happiness?

We know that many people suffering from depression can hide their feelings, appearing to be happy. But, can a person who is contemplating suicide feign happiness? Yes, they can. But, most of the time a suicidal person will give clues as to how desperate he/she is feeling. They may be subtle clues, though, and that's why knowing what to watch for is critical.

A person may "hint" that he/she is thinking about suicide. For example, they may say something like, "Everyone would be better off without me." Or, "It doesn't matter. I won't be around much longer anyway." We need to "key into" phrases like those instead of dismissing them as just talk. It is estimated that 80% of people who died of suicide mentioned it to a friend or relative before dying. Other danger signs are having a preoccupation with death, losing interest in things one cares about, giving things away, having a lot of "accidents" recently, or engaging in risk-taking behavior like speeding or reckless driving, or general carelessness. Some people even joke about completing suicide - it should always be taken seriously.

Is it more likely for a person to commit suicide if he/she has been exposed to it in their family or has had a close friend die of suicide?

We know that suicide tends to run in families, but it is believed that this is due to the fact that depression and other related depressive illnesses have a genetic component, and that if they are left untreated (or mistreated), it can result in suicide. But talking about suicide or being aware of a suicide that happened in your family or to a close friend does not put you at risk for attempting it, if you are healthy. The only people who are at risk are those who are vulnerable in the first place - vulnerable because of an illness called depression or one of the other depressive illnesses. The risk increases if the illness is not treated. It's important to remember that not all people who have depression have suicidal thoughts either - only some.

Why don't people talk about depression and suicide?

The main reason people don't talk about it is because of the stigma. People who suffer from depression are afraid that others will think they are "crazy," which is so untrue. They simply may have depression. Society still hasn't accepted depressive illnesses like they've accepted other diseases.

Alcoholism is a good example - no one ever wanted to talk openly about that, and now look at how society views it. It's a disease that most people feel pretty comfortable discussing with others if it's in their family. They talk of the effect it has had on their lives and different treatment plans. And everyone is educated on the dangers of alcohol and on substance abuse prevention.

As for suicide, it's a topic that has a long history of being taboo - something that should just be forgotten, kind of swept under the rug. And that's why people keep dying. Suicide is so misunderstood by most people, so the myths are perpetuated. Stigma prevents people from getting help and prevents society from learning more about suicide and depression. If everyone was educated on these subjects, many lives could be saved.

Will "talking things out" cure depression?

The studies that have been done on "talk therapy" vs. using antidepressant medication have shown that in some cases of depression, using well-supported psychotherapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy or interpersonal therapy may considerably alleviate the symptoms of depression. In other cases, this simply wouldn't be enough. It would be like trying to talk a person out of having a heart attack. Studies continue to show that a combination of psychotherapy (talking therapies) and antidepressant medication is the most effective way of treating most people who suffer from depression.

Answers to questions about suicide, suicidal thoughts, depression and suicide, why people kill themselves, and more.

Why do people attempt suicide when they appear to have been feeling so much better?

Sometimes people who are severely depressed and contemplating suicide don't have the energy to carry it out. But, as the disease begins to "lift," they may regain some of their energy but will still have feelings of hopelessness. There's also another theory that people just kind of "give in" to the anguished feelings (the disease) because they just can't fight it anymore. This, in turn, releases some of their anxiety, which makes them "appear" calmer. Even if they do die by suicide, it doesn't mean they chose it. If they knew they could have the life back that they had before the illness, they would choose life.

If a person's "mind is made up," can they still be stopped?

Yes! People who are contemplating suicide go back and forth, thinking about life and death...the pain can come in "waves." They don't want to die, they just want the pain to stop. Once they know they can be helped, that there are treatments available for their illness, that it isn't their fault and that they are not alone, it gives them hope. We should never "give up" on someone, just because we think they've made their mind up!

Is depression the same as the blues?

No. Depression is different from the blues. The blues are normal feelings that eventually pass, like when a good friend moves away or the disappointment that a person feels if something didn't turn out as expected. Eventually, the person will feel like his old self again. But the feelings and symptoms associated with depression linger, and no matter how hard a person tries to talk him or herself into feeling better, it just won't work. People can't snap themselves out of depression. It's not a character flaw or a personal weakness and it doesn't have anything to do with willpower. It is an illness.

Why do depressive illnesses sometimes lead to suicidal thoughts?

There is a direct link between depressive illnesses and suicide. The #1 cause of suicide is untreated depression. Depressive illnesses can distort thinking, so a person can't think clearly or rationally. they may not know they have a treatable illness or they may think they can't be helped. their illness can cause thoughts of hopelessness and helplessness, which may then lead to suicidal thoughts. They just can't see any other way out. That's why it is so important to educate people on the symptoms of depression and other depressive illnesses and on the warning signs of suicide so that people suffering from these illnesses can get the help they need. People must understand that depression and other related depressive illnesses are treatable and that they can feel good again.

Source:

  • Suicide Awareness Voices of Education

APA Reference
Gluck, S. (2022, January 10). Why Do People Kill Themselves?, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 10 from https://www.healthyplace.com/bipolar-disorder/articles/frequently-asked-questions-about-suicide

Last Updated: January 16, 2022

Suicide Risk Runs in Families

Samantha Gluck

A person is more likely to complete suicide if a family member has taken his or her own life or has a history of psychiatric illness, a new study suggests.

Danish researchers tracked 4,262 people between the ages of 9 and 45 who had completed suicide and compared them to more than 80,000 controls. They evaluated the suicide history of parents and siblings, history of psychiatric illness among parents and siblings and other data.

Those with a family history of suicide were two and a half times more likely to take their own life than were those without such a history. And a family history of psychiatric illness requiring hospital admission increased suicide risk by about 50 percent for those who did not have a history of psychiatric problems themselves.

Both types of family history boosted risk, but the effect was strongest for individuals whose family history included both suicide and psychiatric illness, the researchers report in this week's issue of The Lancet.

In previous research, experts have found that clustering of suicides within families occurs and that suicidal behavior in part might be genetically transmitted.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating that the two familial factors [suicide and psychiatric illness] act independently on increasing the risk of suicide," says Dr. Ping Qin, lead author and a researcher at the National Centre for Register-based Research at Aarhus University in Denmark.

"Though we cannot conclude that there is a genetic factor associated with suicide, the findings from this large population-based study do suggest that the aggregation of suicide in families is likely due to a genetic factor rather than other non-genetic factors," Qin says. "And this genetic susceptibility is likely to act independently of mental illness."

More study is needed, she says, to find out exactly why a family history of suicide or psychiatric illness raises the risk of an individual taking his own life.

Lanny Berman, executive director of the American Association of Suicidology, says the study simply reinforces "what we have long known. With regard to family history of suicide, the pathway may be genetic, biochemical, and/or psychological. With regard to a family history of mental disorder requiring hospitalization, the same explanation might describe increased risk for similar mental disorder in offspring, and these mental disorders, in turn, are risk factors for suicide."

Another expert, Dr. Andrew Leuchter, a professor and vice chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, says the new study "confirms findings we have known for some time: that suicide does tend to run in families. We have known for some time that if you have a first-degree relative -- mother, father, sister, brother -- you are at higher risk for committing suicide." But "the significant addition of this study suggests there are independent and significant contributions both of a family history of suicide and a family history of psychiatric illness."

He adds a caveat, though: If you have a family history of both, you are not doomed. "Both family history of suicide and family psychiatric history are important risk factors, but they still account for only a minority of all suicides."

Qin agrees. In her study, she says, family suicide history accounted for 2.25 percent and family psychiatric history for 6.8 percent of the more than 4,000 suicides.

Regardless, she says health professionals should evaluate both suicide history and psychiatric illness history when they are assessing a person's suicide risk.

Source: Healthscout News, Oct. 10, 2002

The National Suicide Prevention Hopeline at 1-800-273-8255 provides access to trained telephone counselors, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

APA Reference
Gluck, S. (2022, January 10). Suicide Risk Runs in Families, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 10 from https://www.healthyplace.com/depression/articles/suicide-risk-runs-in-families

Last Updated: January 16, 2022

How Do I Help A Friend In A Hospital For Drug Treatment And A Suicide Attempt?

HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

Dear Stanton:

My very best friend has a drug problem. Recently though, she tried to kill herself by overdosing on tylenol and aspirin. She is now in a rehabilitation center. I was wondering what I should do to help her when she gets out, especially since she can't have any visitors, including parents and it is now the holiday season. I would greatly appreciate your help by giving me a few answers on this subject.

Thank You Much,
Amanda

Dear Amanda:

I appreciate your concerns. There are a lot of questions about your friend's life, and your and other people's relationships with her, which do have to be dealt with. Your communications with your friend should be frank, caring, and open-ended.

Obviously, it is a little difficult for me to talk about someone's suicide attempt who I don't know. On the other hand, if she is in a treatment center, they have some obligations to you, your friend, and her parents. I frankly don't understand why she isn't allowed to have visitors during the holiday season. Perhaps this is based on some clinical decision, I don't know. Perhaps it is based on some kooky idea that people are better at eliminating problems if they are isolated from others.

It is true that people have their problems reinstated when they return to old patterns with family and friends. It is true that these patterns have to be modified if people are to return to familiar social settings without having the same results as those which drove them to the hospital. But your friend is already in a therapeutic program—they must address these things. I suggest that you and you friend's parents ask to speak with the staff about how you can interact in a constructive way with your friend. If the program doesn't initiate such a program, then you should ask about—insist on really—participating in some therapeutic program that concerns your relationships with your friend.

If the philosophy of the program is that your friend has an inbred disease, and cannot cope with such questions, then she is being short-changed.

Translating your love and concern into action is exactly the right way to go.

Happy Holidays,
Stanton

APA Reference
Staff, H. (2022, January 10). How Do I Help A Friend In A Hospital For Drug Treatment And A Suicide Attempt?, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 10 from https://www.healthyplace.com/addictions/articles/how-do-i-help-a-friend-in-a-hospital-for-drug-treatment-and-a-suicide-attempt

Last Updated: January 16, 2022

Suicide Facts, Suicide Statistics, Teen Suicide Statistics

Natasha Tracy

It is a fact that suicide takes more lives every year than homicides do and yet people rarely talk about the critical need to address this, and other, painful suicide statistics. In fact, even though we have statistically analyzed suicide deaths significantly, little is done to reduce the risk of those who are particularly vulnerable.

Facts on the Risk Factors for Suicide

Some of the risk factors for suicide are non-modifiable (such as gender), while others can be treated to be mitigated.

Suicide risk factors (both chronic and acute) include:

  • Demographics such as: being white, being an American Indian, older age, being male, being separated/divorced, being widowed early
  • History of:
  • Suicide attempts / prior suicide ideation
  • Self-harm behavior
  • Suicide in the family
  • Parental history of violence, substance abuse, hospitalization, divorce
  • Trauma or abuse
  • Psychiatric hospitalization
  • Violent/impulsive/reckless behaviors
  • Presence of a major psychiatric disorder such as a mood, eating, substance abuse or personality disorder
  • Presence of a major medical condition particularly involving functional impairment or chronic pain
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Low self-esteem / high self-hatred
  • Lack of family acceptance of sexual orientation
  • Easy accessibility to firearms
  • Stress
  • Increased use of drugs and alcohol
  • Anhedonia (inability to experience pleasure)
  • Anxiety / panic
  • Agitation
  • Recent exposure to another's suicide

 

For all the facts on suicide risk factors, see The American Association of Suicidology fact sheet.

Suicide Statistics in the United States for 2011

2011 is the latest year for which suicide statistics are available. The following is a sampling of suicide facts and statistics according to official American Association of Suicidology data:

  • There were 108.3 suicides per day equating to 39,518 deaths in 2011; this accounts for 1.6% of all deaths in the United States
  • 78.4% of all suicides were male; 71.1% of all suicide were white males
  • An average of one person every 13.3 minutes died of suicide
  • There were almost one million suicide attempts in 2011
  • Suicide overall ranks as the 10th leading cause of death, homicide ranks as the 16th
  • Wyoming and Montana have the highest rates of suicide while New Jersey and the District of Columbia have the lowest

Teen Suicide Statistics

While the suicide facts and statistics in the general American population are staggering, facts and statistics about suicide in teens and young people are even more so. Teen suicide statistics provided by the American Association of Suicidology include:

  • Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in people under the age of 24
  • In the young (age 15-24) suicide is responsible for 16.3% of deaths
  • 282 children between the ages of 10-14 died by suicide in 2011
  • One young person (under the age of 24) dies of suicide every 1 hour and 43 minutes
  • For every suicide death, it's estimated that young people make 100-200 suicide attempts

Suicide Facts and Statistics

While these facts on suicide may seem disheartening, they are important to understand as they will allow for the creation of comprehensive anti-suicide initiatives.

APA Reference
Tracy, N. (2022, January 10). Suicide Facts, Suicide Statistics, Teen Suicide Statistics, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 10 from https://www.healthyplace.com/suicide/suicide-facts-suicide-statistics-teen-suicide-statistics

Last Updated: January 16, 2022

Why People Kill Themselves, Die by Suicide

Natasha Tracy

The truth is, we rarely know why any, single individual commits suicide. Suicide always takes a person's life and leaves questions behind.

That being said, there are common themes that people who have attempted suicide and survived tend to repeat as to why they tried to take their lives. These are likely the reasons others have killed themselves.

Reasons People Kill Themselves

People Would Be Better Off Without Me

Suicidal people often think, quite incorrectly, that everyone, and the world at large, would be better off without them. What makes these people commit suicide is that they feel like they are a burden on others or have a negative impact on others. Suicidal people are often incapable of seeing all the good they offer others and the world. Even though every person has a positive impact in some way, some people are so wrapped up in suicidal thoughts, they can't see this.

I Want the Pain to End

People who kill themselves are often in extreme pain either due to a mental illness like depression or due to horrible life circumstances. For example, according to a study on people who attempted suicide, we know that major risk factors for a suicide attempt include:

  • Extreme anxiety/panic attacks, depression
  • Recent loss of a close, personal relationship
  • Anhedonia (an inability to feel pleasure)
  • Chronic or deteriorating illness
  • Inability to maintain work or school
  • Recent diagnosis of a life-threatening illness

Suicidal people find this pain overwhelming and that causes them to kill themselves.

Hopelessness, Another Reason People Kill Themselves

The same study shows that hopelessness is felt by 64% of suicide attempters and helplessness by 62%. In short, people kill themselves because they don't see the hope of anything getting better in the future and they feel helpless to make a positive change. We know, however, this isn't true. People always have the power to choose life and hope. There are always options to suicide.

Substance Abuse

While people may not kill themselves specifically because of substance abuse, substance abuse is highly correlated with suicide, likely because it decreases the inhibitions that keep people from taking their own lives. In the above study, 68% of people who attempted suicide were also abusing substances (drugs and/or alcohol).

Mental Illness

While not everyone who commits suicide has a diagnosable mental illness, most do. Most commonly the mental illness is bipolar disorder, depression or an anxiety disorder. This mental illness can create pain, as noted above, or can even create a delusional state wherein a person feels compelled to commit suicide by an unseen force.

Questions After People Kill Themselves

For those left behind, the reasons that their loved ones committed suicide become important as a way of coping with the death. However, it's important to realize that we will never truly know the motivation of someone who has taken his or her life, but what matters is that it is not the survivor's fault. Suicide isn't logical, doesn't make sense and even knowing the reasons won't make it so. What matters is acceptance, forgiveness and moving forward.

APA Reference
Tracy, N. (2022, January 10). Why People Kill Themselves, Die by Suicide, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 10 from https://www.healthyplace.com/suicide/why-people-kill-themselves-commit-suicide

Last Updated: January 29, 2024

Excoriation Skin-Picking Disorder Articles

Samantha Gluck

APA Reference
Gluck, S. (2022, January 10). Excoriation Skin-Picking Disorder Articles, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 10 from https://www.healthyplace.com/ocd-related-disorders/excoriation-skin-picking-disorder/excoriation-skin-picking-disorder-articles

Last Updated: January 15, 2022

Is Talking About Suicide with a Suicidal Person Dangerous?

Natasha Tracy

Some people worry that talking about suicide with a person who is suicidal may make the person actually follow through and attempt suicide. This is a natural fear and no one wants to make a suicidal person worse. That being said, talking about suicide with a person who is suicidal is actually one of the most helpful things you can do.

Myths About Talking About Suicide

Myth 1: People who talk about suicide won't really do it.

Fact: According to HelpGuide.org, "Almost everyone who commits or attempts suicide has given some clue or warning. Do not ignore suicide threats. Statements like 'you'll be sorry when I'm dead,' 'I can't see any way out,' - no matter how casually or jokingly said may indicate serious suicidal feelings."
Additionally, in a study of 100 patients who attempted suicide, 84% had sought the counsel of a healthcare provider in the month before their attempt.

People do not want to die. Most people reach out for help.

Myth 2: Talking about suicide will give someone ideas.

Fact: According to HealthGuide.org, "You don't give a suicidal person morbid ideas by talking about suicide. The opposite is true - bringing up the subject of suicide and discussing it openly is one of the most helpful things you can do."

Talking and asking about suicide actually shows that you care about the person, that you take him or her seriously and that it's okay to share his or her pain with you.

In this video, HealthyPlace.com Medical Director and board-certified psychiatrist, Dr. Harry Croft, talks about discussing suicide with a person who is suicidal and, in fact, encourages friends, family members, and healthcare providers to discuss suicide openly.

 

Safe Ways to Talk About Suicide

Open and honest communication about suicide is positive but there are some dos and don'ts to remember when talking about suicide to a suicidal person:
Do:

  • Be open, honest, accepting, patient, calm and nonjudgmental. Remember, your loved one is doing the right thing by talking about the suicidal feelings.
  • Tell the person he or she is not alone and that you care for him or her.
  • Listen to the suicidal person and let him or her unload despair and vent anger.
  • Ask supportive questions like, "How long have you felt this way?"
  • Always involve professional help such as the resources recommended by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Don't:

  • Argue or get angry with the suicidal person.
  • Don't lecture about morals, ethics, the value of life or religion.
  • Act shocked.
  • Promise confidentiality. It's important that professional help always be involved when a person is suicidal.
  • Offer ways to fix their problem or give advice. You are there only to listen.
  • Make the suicidal person feel he or she has to justify the suicidal feelings.
  • Glorify suicide or needlessly talk about others (like celebrities) who have died by suicide.
  • Spend too much time detailing methods of suicide.

And always remember that it is not your fault that a loved one is feeling suicidal. You cannot "fix" a suicidal person's feelings. You are not to blame.

APA Reference
Tracy, N. (2022, January 10). Is Talking About Suicide with a Suicidal Person Dangerous?, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 10 from https://www.healthyplace.com/suicide/is-talking-about-suicide-with-a-suicidal-person-dangerous

Last Updated: January 16, 2022

What is Skin Picking, Excoriation Disorder?

Samantha Gluck

Skin picking disorder, aka excoriation disorder, is a perplexing psychological condition. Merriam-Webster defines excoriation as the act of abrading or wearing off the skin.

Skin picking disorder, aka excoriation disorder, is a perplexing psychological condition. Merriam-Webster defines excoriation as the act of abrading or wearing off the skin. This can happen inadvertently in any number of ways, such as scratching an insect bite, or wearing ill-fitting shoes, or even popping a pimple. This seems innocuous in and of itself, but the darker side of skin picking, excoriation disorder, is getting increasing attention from medical experts these days.

What Is Excoriation Disorder?

Excoriation disorder is the act of compulsively picking skin. People refer to this disorder by several other names, including dermatillomania, skin picking disorder or compulsive skin picking. This skin picking disorder has long been recognized by mental health professionals, but now excoriation disorder officially appears in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V). The DSM-V lists the disorder in the new chapter entitled, Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders.

People with excoriation disorder have trouble controlling very strong urges to skin pick. Viewed by experts as a form of self-mutilation, this condition falls in the same family as compulsive nail biting and hair pulling. Although it's a separate condition, it's frequently seen in people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Classified as a body-focused repetitive behavior, it targets the face, but affects other areas of the body as well. The causes of this mental illness still require research and examination, but the results create definite concern in family members and mental health professionals who deal with skin picking patients ("Effects of Compulsive Skin Picking, Chronic Skin Picking").

Flaws in the skin, real or imagined, can trigger an impulse for the people who suffer with this disorder. The victim feels the impulse to remove the flaw and proceeds to pick at it. Sometimes prompted by a bump, an itch, or just an area where the skin looks or feels different, the repeated skin pick action can lead to bruising, bleeding, or infections. Subsequent scars and permanent disfigurement can result.

Picking Your Skin –A Cause For Concern?

Generally, picking your skin as a form of hygiene should not cause concern. People often find they need to squeeze a pimple, scrub off dead skin, or remove a hangnail. Even the unconscious act of scratching an irritation until it gets worse does not pose a serious problem. According to the International OCD Foundation, "Skin picking is not considered a disorder unless it is often and/or bad enough to cause significant distress or problems in other areas of life." Sufferers of picking disorders focus on various parts of the body, including the face, scalp, cuticles, and back. All the extremities – hands, feet, arms and legs – can become the focus of this behavior as well.

Reasons vary, but stress most often triggers the episodes. Sufferers resort to skin picking to relieve stress, but then experience increased stress from guilt or shame. Others, perfectionists, seek to eliminate flaws in their skin. Paradoxically, picking your skin leads to more flaws. Both of these examples show different self-perpetuating cycles that help lead to excoriation disorder.

Permanent physical damage stands as the biggest concern for skin picking disorder sufferers. In addition, sufferers eventually find they have to take measures to hide the physical evidence of their condition. They become ashamed, less social. Relationships become strained, potentially creating problems with family, friends, and at work. Left untreated, excoriation disorder at its worst debilitates its victims. If you have concerns that your tendency to skin pick could require medical attention, do not hesitate to bring it up to your doctor.

article references

APA Reference
Gluck, S. (2022, January 10). What is Skin Picking, Excoriation Disorder?, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2025, May 10 from https://www.healthyplace.com/ocd-related-disorders/excoriation-skin-picking-disorder/what-is-skin-picking-excoriation-disorder

Last Updated: January 15, 2022
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