What is Suicide?

Suicide is the act of ending one’s life. People can get thoughts about committing suicide for many reasons, such as when a person is under so many stresses that they become overwhelmed and cannot cope.

Typical stresses may include:

• Home stress, such as conflict/disagreements with mother, father, siblings…
• School stress such as problems with friends, schoolwork, teachers, bullies…
• Work stress such as problems with co-workers, bosses, workload…
• Other problems such as depression, anxiety, substance use

People can feel suicidal when they feel 1) disconnected from other people, 2) helpless to deal with their stress, and/or 3) hopeless that their stress will improve.

Thus, one way to help a young person who is feeling suicidal is to help 1) them feel connected again, and/or 2) overcome helplessness by giving them a sense of control, and/or 3) give them a sense of hope.