suicide suicide suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and substance abuse (including alcoholism and the use of and withdrawal from benzodiazepines) are risk factors. some suicides are impulsive acts due to stress (such as from financial or academic difficulties), relationship problems (such as breakups or divorces), or harassment and bullying. those who have previously attempted suicide are at a higher risk for future attempts. effective suicide prevention efforts include limiting access to methods of suicide such as firearms, drugs, and poisons; treating mental disorders and substance abuse; careful media reporting about suicide; and improving economic conditions. although crisis hotlines are common resources, their effectiveness has not been well studied. for information on prevention, see suicide prevention. for other uses, see suicide (disambiguation). suicidele suicidé by édouard manetspecialtypsychiatry, clinical psychology, clinical social workusual onset15–30 and 70+ years oldrisk factorsdepression, bipolar disorder, autism, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders, alcoholism, substance abusepreventionlimiting access to methods of suicide, treating mental disorders and substance misuse, careful media reporting about suicide, improving social and economic conditionsfrequency12 per 100,000 per yeardeaths793,000 / 1.5% of deaths (2016) part of a series onhomicide murder note: varies by jurisdiction assassination child murder consensual homicide contract killing crime of passion depraved-heart murder felony murder rule foeticide honor killing human cannibalism human sacrifice child sacrifice internet homicide lonely hearts killer lust murder lynching mass murder mass shooting mass stabbing misdemeanor murder murder for body parts murder–suicide poisoning proxy murder pseudocommando serial killer angel of mercy spree killer thrill killing torture murder vehicle-ramming attack manslaughter in english law voluntary manslaughter negligent homicide vehicular homicide non-criminal homicide note: varies by jurisdiction war assisted suicide capital punishment euthanasia foeticide justifiable homicide "license to kill" by victim or victims suicide family avunculicide/nepoticide familicide mariticide uxoricide prolicide filicide infanticide neonaticide siblicide fratricide sororicide parricide matricide patricide senicide other crucifixion deicide democide friendly fire gendercide femicide androcide genocide omnicide regicide stoning tyrannicide war crime the most commonly adopted method of suicide varies from country to country and is partly related to the availability of effective means. common methods of suicide include hanging, pesticide poisoning, and firearms. suicides resulted in 828,000 deaths globally in 2015, an increase from 712,000 deaths in 1990. this makes suicide the 10th leading cause of death worldwide. approximately 1.5% of all deaths worldwide are by suicide. in a given year, this is roughly 12 per 100,000 people. rates of suicide are generally higher among men than women, ranging from 1.5 times higher in the developing world to 3.5 times higher in the developed world. suicide is generally most common among those over the age of 70; however, in certain countries, those aged between 15 and 30 are at the highest risk. europe had the highest rates of suicide by region in 2015. there are an estimated 10 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year. non-fatal suicide attempts may lead to injury and long-term disabilities. in the western world, attempts are more common among young people and women. views on suicide have been influenced by broad existential themes such as religion, honor, and the meaning of life. the abrahamic religions traditionally consider suicide as an offense towards god due to the belief in the sanctity of life. during the samurai era in japan, a form of suicide known as seppuku (腹切り, harakiri) was respected as a means of making up for failure or as a form of protest. sati, a practice outlawed by the british in india, expected a hindu widow to immolate herself on her husband's funeral pyre, either willingly or under pressure from her family and society. suicide and attempted suicide, while previously illegal, are no longer so in most western countries. it remains a criminal offense in some countries. in the 20th and 21st centuries, suicide has been used on rare occasions as a form of protest, and kamikaze and suicide bombings have been used as a military or terrorist tactic. suicide is often seen as a major catastrophe for families, relatives, and other nearby supporters, and it is viewed negatively almost everywhere around the world. definitions suicide, derived from latin suicidium, is "the act of taking one's own life". attempted suicide or non-fatal suicidal behavior amounts to self-injury with at least some desire to end one's life that does not result in death. assisted suicide occurs when one individual helps another bring about their own death indirectly via providing either advice or the means to the end. this is in contrast to euthanasia, where another person takes a more active role in bringing about a person's death. suicidal ideation is thoughts of ending one's life but not taking any active efforts to do so. it may or may not involve exact planning or intent. in a murder–suicide (or homicide–suicide), the individual aims at taking the lives of others at the same time. a special case of this is extended suicide, where the murder is motivated by seeing the murdered persons as an extension of their self. suicide in which the reason is that the person feels that they are not part of society is known as egoistic suicide. in 2011, the centre for suicide prevention in canada found that the normal verb in scholarly research and journalism for the act of suicide was commit. on the other hand, the american psychological association lists "committed suicide" as a term to avoid because it "frame suicide as a crime". some advocacy groups recommend using the terms took his/her own life, died by suicide, or killed him/herself instead of committed suicide. the associated press stylebook recommends avoiding "committed suicide" except in direct quotes from authorities. the guardian and observer style guides deprecate the use of "committed", as does cnn. opponents of commit argue that it implies that suicide is criminal, sinful, or morally wrong. risk factors precipitating circumstances in the us, 2017 categories percentage diagnosed mental problem 50% recent or upcoming crisis 31% intimate partner problem 27% physical health problem 21% alcohol problem 18% substance abuse (excluding alcohol) 18% argument 16% family problem 10% job problem 10% financial problem 9% legal problem 8% death of loved one 7% suicide is multi-factorial. multiple precipitating circumstances and risk factors can apply to the same person. factors that affect the risk of suicide include mental disorders, drug misuse, psychological states, cultural, family and social situations, genetics, experiences of trauma or loss, and nihilism. mental disorders and substance misuse frequently co-exist. other risk factors include having previously attempted suicide, the ready availability of a means to take one's life, a family history of suicide, or the presence of traumatic brain injury. for example, suicide rates have been found to be greater in households with firearms than those without them. socio-economic problems such as unemployment, poverty, homelessness, and discrimination may trigger suicidal thoughts. suicide might be rarer in societies with high social cohesion and moral objections against suicide. about 15–40% of people leave a suicide note. war veterans have a higher risk of suicide due in part to higher rates of mental illness, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and physical health problems related to war. genetics appears to account for between 38% and 55% of suicidal behaviors. suicides may also occur as a local cluster of cases. most research does not distinguish between risk factors that lead to thinking about suicide and risk factors that lead to suicide attempts. risks for suicide attempt rather than just thoughts of suicide include a high pain tolerance and a reduced fear of death. mental illness mental illness is present at the time of suicide 27% to more than 90% of the time. of those who have been hospitalized for suicidal behavior, the lifetime risk of suicide is 8.6%. comparatively, non-suicidal people hospitalized for affective disorders have a 4% lifetime risk of suicide. half of all people who die by suicide may have major depressive disorder; having this or one of the other mood disorders such as bipolar disorder increases the risk of suicide 20-fold. other conditions implicated include schizophrenia (14%), personality disorders (8%), obsessive–compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. those with autism also attempt and consider suicide more frequently. others estimate that about half of people who die by suicide could be diagnosed with a personality disorder, with borderline personality disorder being the most common. about 5% of people with schizophrenia die of suicide. eating disorders are another high risk condition. around 22% to 50% of people suffering with gender dysphoria have attempted suicide, however this greatly varies by region. among approximately 80% of suicides, the individual has seen a physician within the year before their death, including 45% within the prior month. approximately 25–40% of those who died by suicide had contact with mental health services in the prior year. antidepressants of the ssri class appear to increase the frequency of suicide among children but do not change the risk among adults. an unwillingness to get help for mental health problems also increases the risk. previous attempts a previous history of suicide attempts is the most accurate predictor of suicide. approximately 20% of suicides have had a previous attempt, and of those who have attempted suicide, 1% die by suicide within a year and more than 5% die by suicide within 10 years. self-harm non-suicidal self-harm is common with 18% of people engaging in self-harm over the course of their life.: 1 acts of self-harm are not usually suicide attempts and most who self-harm are not at high risk of suicide. some who self-harm, however, do still end their life by suicide, and risk for self-harm and suicide may overlap. individuals who have been identified as self-harming after being admitted to hospital are 68% (38–105%) more likely to die by suicide.: 279 psychosocial factors a number of psychological factors increase the risk of suicide including: hopelessness, loss of pleasure in life, depression, anxiousness, agitation, rigid thinking, rumination, thought suppression, and poor coping skills. a poor ability to solve problems, the loss of abilities one used to have, and poor impulse control also play a role. in older adults, the perception of being a burden to others is important. those who have never married are also at greater risk. recent life stresses, such as a loss of a family member or friend or the loss of a job, might be a contributing factor. certain personality factors, especially high levels of neuroticism and introvertedness, have been associated with suicide. this might lead to people who are isolated and sensitive to distress to be more likely to attempt suicide. on the other hand, optimism has been shown to have a protective effect. other psychological risk factors include having few reasons for living and feeling trapped in a stressful situation. changes to the stress response system in the brain might be altered during suicidal states. specifically, changes in the polyamine system and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. social isolation and the lack of social support has been associated with an increased risk of suicide. poverty is also a factor, with heightened relative poverty compared to those around a person increasing suicide risk. over 200,000 farmers in india have died by suicide since 1997, partly due to issues of debt. in china, suicide is three times as likely in rural regions as urban ones, partly, it is believed, due to financial difficulties in this area of the country. the time of year may also affect suicide rates. there appears to be a decrease around christmas, but an increase in rates during spring and summer, which might be related to exposure to sunshine. another study found that the risk may be greater for males on their birthday. being religious may reduce one's risk of suicide while beliefs that suicide is noble may increase it. this has been attributed to the negative stance many religions take against suicide and to the greater connectedness religion may give. muslims, among religious people, appear to have a lower rate of suicide; however, the data supporting this is not strong. there does not appear to be a difference in rates of attempted suicide. young women in the middle east may have higher rates. substance misuse "the drunkard's progress", 1846 demonstrating how alcoholism can lead to poverty, crime, and eventually suicide