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Common Concerns

As someone who is working with or cares about someone who may be suicidal, you will likely have many concerns about your own role and actions. Listed below are a series of common concerns of people in helping roles to individuals who may be suicidal.

COMMON CONCERN #1

All suicidal people are not clinically depressed (Reference 1).

The details are:

A diagnosis of major depression increases the risk of suicide, suicide attempts, and non-suicidal self-mutilation.
NOT all persons with a diagnosed depressive disorder are suicidal nor do they have suicidal thoughts.
Depression is a significant risk factor for suicidal thinking and actions, but there may be many causes for an individual's specific suicidal behavior.

COMMON CONCERN #2

Talking about suicide does not encourage someone to attempt suicide (Reference 2).

The details are:

You do not give a person morbid ideas by talking about suicide
Talking about suicide with a suicidal person, expresses caring, indicates that the threat of suicide is taken seriously, demonstrates a willingness to help, and shows a willingness to listen
Talking about suicide with a suicidal person also helps to gain information about the individual that can be shared with their primary care giver in order to quicken their ability to get appropriate treatment
Talking about suicide with non-suicidal persons educates and dispels the social misunderstanding and stigma associated with suicide
Addressing the subject of suicide and discussing it openly is one of the most helpful things that you can do.
Learn more about helping someone who is suicidal, by accessing: What to do in an emergency

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References for Common concerns

Resources

Electronic, print, and multimedia resources are provided to help you to find additional authoritative information on Common concerns about suicide. These resources are available from such national organizations as The National Institute of Mental Health as well as professional organizations, not-for-profit organizations, and educational institutions.

Internet

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

The NIMH is the primary National Institute of Health organization for research on suicide and suicide prevention. The NIMH offers specific resources, research, tools, and reports for individuals in helping roles, health care professionals, and researchers interested in learning more about suicide and suicide prevention.

Learn more from the NIMH Web site's Frequently Asked Questions available at the following Web address:

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/SuicidePrevention/suicidefaq.cfm

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What to look for

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