Suicide is forever, but the stress leading up to it is often temporary:
“Many suicides (estimates range from 30% to 80%) are impulsive, with just minutes or an hour elapsing between the time a person decides upon suicide and when he or she commits the act. Yet the stressful events that lead to suicidal thoughts are often temporary, such as losing a job or having a romantic relationship end.”
In my experience, this is essential: crisis survival strategies are desperately needed for everyone, not just those who are suffering from depression. We should teach DBT skills in high schools. If there were more money available for a project like that, I’d be happy to develop a curriculum for it. Alas, there isn’t.
But there’s a little ray of hope:
An article in the New England Journal of Medicine noted that at least nine out of 10 people who survive a suicide attempt do not commit suicide at a later date.
If we can minimize the lethal means and give people skills they can use in the moment they are feeling so desperate to act, perhaps we can avoid these tragedies.
March 22, 2011
suicide