Suicides: Facts, Statistics, and Associated Mental Disorders

The suicide it is the act of deliberately taking one's life. Suicidal behavior is any action that could lead a person to die.

Suicide, the leading cause of unnatural death in Spain

Suicide is the leading cause of unnatural death in Spain. There are twice as many suicides as there are deaths from traffic accidents. In Spain there are 10 suicide deaths a day. However, the rate is low compared to other countries in the European Union. Almost 4,000 people died in 2014 for this reason within Spanish borders. 20% more incidence compared to the data recorded in 2007.

There are societies where it is more acceptable, as for example in Japan, and others less. In southern countries, with a strong cultural component that draws on the Catholic religion, suicide is very frowned upon.

Why does someone decide to end their own life?

Often these people are trying to get away from a life situation that seems impossible to handle. In the suicide attempt they are seeking relief. They often feel ashamed, guilty, or like a burden to others. They feel victimized, and have feelings of rejection, loss, or

loneliness. Shouts for help are often reflected in suicide attempts.

Possible symptoms include difficulty concentrating or thinking clearly, engaging in self-destructive behaviors (cutting your body, drinking excess alcohol), staying away from friends or not wanting to go out and / or change eating habits or dream.

The psychological profile of the person attempting suicide

These people, on many occasions, do not seek help because they believe that nothing is going to help them, because they want to tell anyone they have problems, because they think seeking help is a sign of weakness. In other cases, they do not seek help because they do not know where to turn for someone to help them out. Keep in mind that a person who is thinking about committing suicide has behind a personal and family history, in addition to a certain psychological predisposition. Suicide is not an isolated event, there is no single cause. It is something multifactorial.

There are triggers, but it is clear that the decision is not made "just" because your boyfriend / girlfriend has left you or because you have lost your job. If so, we all would not have attempted suicide at some point. Suicide attempts may be motivated by a mix of genetic and environmental factors. There is no profile of the person attempting to kill himself and therefore it is not easy to predict suicidal behavior.

Recidivism, one of the risk factors

One third of people who have attempted suicide will try again within a year. 10% of people who threaten or attempt suicide eventually kill themselves. It is not an act of selfishness or cowardice, it is the outcome of a process.

According to experts, when someone executes the decision to commit suicide (that is, seconds before taking the action), the person produces a "short circuit" reaction, it could be said that he suffers "transitory mental derangement" where "the instinct to survival".

Suicide and associated mental disorders (comorbidity)

The person who decides to commit suicide does not have to show any metal disorder. However, it is true that 90% of suicide attempts are usually based on some mental disorder or some incurable condition.

1. Depression

The most common mental disorder in suicide cases is undoubtedly depression. Depression is a powerful predictor of completed and completed suicide attempts and suicides. However, research shows that between 13% and 40% of people who commit suicide do not meet the diagnostic criteria for Major Depression Disorder.

There is evidence that the risk of suicide can sometimes increase as depression clears. This may be because people with severe depression begin to experience improvement and a return of energy. During this period of time, called the "window period," the patient is still depressed but has enough energy to make a suicide attempt. However, this does not mean that a deeply depressed person is out of the woods.

2. Drug addiction, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder ...

About 10% have other diagnoses such as substance use disorder (for example, alcoholism), schizophrenia, Borderline personality disorder or Bipolar disorder. Patients with borderline personality disorder, for example, either with or without depression, are twice as likely to attempt suicide as patients diagnosed with only depression.

3. Suicides for 'subclinical' causes

Between 5% and 10% of people have no identifiable mental disorder. We assume that they are likely to have “subclinical symptoms,” that is, they have some symptoms of one or more mental disorders but the diagnostic criteria are not fully met.

Beyond psychopathology: "rational suicides"

However, it has been found that an unknown number of people commit what experts have called "rational suicide". In these cases, suicide is a decision prepared to end one's life, often due to an incurable disease.

As final data, in In most cases of women with suicidal behavior, the search to end their own life is usually due to an affective theme. On the other hand, those who die by suicide are rather men, mainly older and with some mental or medical pathology. This is reflected in the statistics.

In general, men commit suicide are three times more than women, but it is also known that women attempt suicide three times more than men because they report higher levels of stress and anxiety. By this, we do not mean that they just want to attract attention. Is not true. They want to commit suicide, but they can't.

The most used methods and systems to commit suicide

The method chosen to attempt suicide predicts the "success" of subsequent attempts. Among the most used methods is hanging first (used by half of the suicides in Spain and mostly men).

The second most used method is the leap into the void chosen by a large number of women. The third option is substance use poisoning. The “favorite” month for suicide bombers is June.

Suicide in the world

Suicide is an individual action, but there are countries where it is more culturally accepted than in others. For different reasons, such as economic, social and cultural reasons, there are countries where the suicide rate is much higher than in others. You can check it in the following map.

A taboo subject

Suicide is still a taboo subject in our country, and in many others. It supposes a failure as a system, both political, social, health, legal and even cultural. And yet we still have little data and information about him. Because it happens? What can we do? It can be avoided? These are some of the questions that we continue to try to solve.