Suicide

Every 39 seconds someone commits suicide World Health Organization

10 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year worldwide

SUICIDE

• Latin suicidium, from sui caedere, to kill oneself. • is the intentional taking of one's own life. • willful destruction of one's selfinterest • sometimes interpreted in this framework as a "cry for help" and attention, or to

EPIDEMIOLOGY  Worldwide suicide rates have increased by 60%

in the past 50 years, mainly in the developing countries. Most suicides in the world occur in Asia China, India and Japan may account for 40% of all world suicides.

GENDER  In the Western world, males die much more often by means of suicide than do females  China is the only country in the world where more women than men take their own lives AGE  In the USA, males over the age of seventy die by suicide more often than younger males SEASON  People die by suicide more often during spring and summer.  Some studies have found that elderly people are more likely to commit suicide around their birthdays

Euthanasia and assisted suicide Individuals who wish to end their own life may enlist the assistance of another person to achieve death, e.g. by a deadly poison

Murder-suicide A murder-suicide is an act in which an individual kills one or more other persons immediately before or at the same time as him or herself.

Suicide attack  A suicide attack is when an attacker perpetrates an act of violence against others, typically to achieve a military or political goal, that foreseeably results in his or her own death as well. Self-injury  Self-injury is not a suicide attempt; however, initially self-injury was erroneously classified as a suicide attempt. Suicide locations  Some landmarks have become known for highlevels of suicide attempts. Two of the most popular locations in the world are reportedly San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and Japan's

SUICIDE METHODS  Firearms  Asphyxiation methods (including hanging)  Toxification (poisoning and overdose)  Blunt force trauma (jumping from a building or

bridge, self-defenestrating, stepping in front of a train, or car collision)  Exsanguination or bloodletting (slitting one's wrist or throat), intentional drowning, self-immolation, electrocution, and intentional starvation  Individuals may also intentionally provoke another person into administering lethal action against them, as in suicide-by-cop.  

RECKLESS DISREGARD Many suicides are recorded as accidents High-risk activities, such as mountain climbing,

glacier trevassing, skydiving, deep scuba diving, and high-speed motorcycle riding, are openly indifferent to the heightened possibility of death.

REASONS FOR SUICIDE Mental disorders Suffering Stress Grief Suicide headache Unrequited love Withdrawal or discontinuation of psychoactive

substances As philosophically or ideologically motivated move

To escape punishment or an abusive

environment Guilt or shame Catastrophic injury Financial loss Self sacrifice As part of a military or social strategy (e.g. suicide attacks) Belief that life has no inherent value (e.g. absurdism, pessimism, nihilism) As part of a religious or cult doctrine Loneliness

To restore honor (e.g. seppuku) Curiosity for post-life occurrences Fear of aging Unresolved sexual issues Drugs as in the paradoxical effect of some

sedatives

Medical causes Serious depression can lead to specific changes

of the DNA in the human brain. Those changes affected on the genes' activeness, which lead to pathological psychological disturbances. a process of methylation, which is a chemical

reaction, representing an adding of a methyl group to aminic groups of substances which is responsible for methylation process of the DNA

Suicide and Mental Illness psychiatric disorders

"We say, in essence, ‘All people who attempt suicide are mentally ill.' If someone asks, 'How do you know they are mentally ill?' the implied answer is, 'Because only mentally ill persons would try to commit suicide.”

A. Suicide as a form of defiance and protest Heroic suicide, for the greater good of others,

is often celebrated. People who commit suicide may not always be suffering from depression or despair. Some people may kill themselves for the purpose of experiencing life after death, or have a different existential, religious or philosophical motive. This points out that views of suicide are individually and culturally subjective.

B. Judicial Suicide A person who has committed a crime may

commit suicide to avoid prosecution and disgrace

C. Military Suicide  Soldiers and civilians committed suicide to avoid

capture and slavery  Commanders committed suicide rather than accept defeat.  Spies and officers have often committed suicide to avoid revealing secrets under interrogation and/or torture.  A soldier falling on a grenade to save his comrades.  Soldiers under cannon fire at the Battle of Waterloo who took fatal hits rather than duck and place their comrades in harm's way.

D. Ritual Suicide    Ritual suicide is the act of suicide motivated by a

religious, spiritual, or traditional ritual.   Sati is a Hindu funeral practice in which the widow would immolate herself on her husband's funeral pyre as an assurance that she will be with her husband for the next life.  Other rituals of self-immolation or self-starvation were used by Hindu, Jain and Buddhist monks for religious or philosophical purposes, or as a form of extreme nonviolent protest.  Samadhi is a form of Hindu spiritual suicide where the person departs to a cave or and enters deep Yogic meditation, and essentially forgets the physical world around him/her  In Japan, rituals of suicide like seppuku by men and jigai

E. Dutiful Suicide  Non-fatal attempt at the act, of fatal self-violence

at one's own hands done in the belief that it will secure a greater good, rather than to escape harsh or impossible conditions.  It can be voluntary, to relieve some dishonor or punishment, or imposed by threats of death or reprisals on one's family or reputation (a kind of murder by remote control).  It can be culturally traditional or generally abhorred; it can be heavily ritualized as in seppuku or purely functional.

VIEWS ON SUICIDE  Medical  Modern medicine treats suicide as a mental health issue.  Mental health professionals advise that people who have expressed plans to kill themselves be encouraged to seek help. This is especially relevant if the means (weapons, drugs, or other methods) are available, or if the person has crafted a detailed plan for executing the suicide.  The predominant view of modern medicine is that suicide is a mental health concern, associated with psychological factors such as the difficulty of coping with depression, inescapable suffering or fear, or other mental disorders and pressures

Criminal In some jurisdictions, an act or incomplete act

of suicide is considered to be a crime. More commonly, a surviving party member who assisted in the suicide attempt will face criminal charges. Unlike other countries, helping a suicidal

person to obtain the materials or medication needed to carry out the act is not usually viewed as a criminal offense

Cultural In Japan, samurai who disgraced their honor

chose to end their own lives by seppuku, a method in which the samurai takes a sword and slices into his abdomen, causing a fatal injury. In today's society, suicide is also viewed as a cultural norm. Often suicide is portrayed in movies and music with such band names as Suicide Silence and Suicide Opera.

Religious Christianity Suicide is considered a sin The idea that life is a gift given by God which should not be spurned Suicide is against the "natural order" and thus interferes with God's master plan for the world.

Judaism  focuses on the importance of valuing life  suicide is tantamount to denying God's goodness in the world.  heroic martyrdom Islam  Suicide is not allowed; however, martyring oneself for Allah (during combat) is not the same as completing suicide.  Suicide in Islam is seen as a sign of disbelief in God.  The use of suicide attacks is strictly forbidden in Islam however it is practised by Radical groups

Hinduism suicide is frowned upon and is considered equally sinful as murdering another. Hindu Scriptures state that one who commits suicide will become part of the spirit world, wandering earth until the time one would have otherwise died, had one not committed suicide.

Philosophical  Some see suicide as a legitimate matter of personal

choice and a human right (colloquially known as the right to die movement), and maintain that no one should be forced to suffer against their will, particularly from conditions such as incurable disease, mental illness, and old age that have no possibility of improvement.  Proponents of this view reject the belief that suicide is always irrational, arguing instead that it can be a valid last resort for those enduring major pain or trauma.  A narrower segment of this group considers suicide something between a grave but condonable choice in some circumstances and a sacrosanct right for anyone (even a young and healthy person) who believes they have rationally and conscientiously come to the decision to end their own lives.

CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIO N