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Suicide Risks & Signs



Have you ever wonder who can be at risk of suicide? The answer is ANYONE COULD!

❗Suicide: Risk Factors❗

There are some risk factors that could potentially increase the chances of individual developing suicidal thoughts or ideation. For example, having a history of family suicide or mental health illness would increase the risk of suicide. Besides that, individuals who attempted suicide previously are at a higher risk of repeating the same behaviour again. Individuals who are encountering conflict, disaster, violence, abuse, loss of close friends or family members are also at risk of attempting suicide given the overwhelming stress and negative emotions that they are feeling. Indirect or direct exposure to suicide behaviour would increase the chances of the exposed individual imitating such behaviour, especially when they are dealing with stressful events or life crises. Lastly, victims of bullying or discrimination are also at higher risk of attempting suicide. As they undergo verbal or physical attacks from others, not being accepted by their surrounding people causing them to think that they are not worthy of living, they are likely to choose suicide to end their suffering situation.

Nevertheless, the risk factors only indicate potential attempts of suicide behaviour. It DOES NOT mean that having these risks will definitely lead to suicidal behaviour. However, please do not ignore the individuals who are at risk! We should look out for warning signs as they are more of an indicator of suicidal behaviour.

⚠️Suicide: Warning Signs⚠️

Suicidal individuals are more likely to mention ending their lives and dying. They often think that they are a burden to others and feel that they should end their lives to stop being a burden nor a problem to others. Suicidal individuals are also likely to experience extreme mood swings, feeling empty, hopeless, and believe that they have no reason to continue living. The negative thoughts of themselves being a burden would lead them to withdraw their interactions with friends and/or family, so that they will not “be a burden” to them anymore. They often think and believe that they are not worthy of anything and that they are nothing, hence they carry out self-harm behaviour in order to punish themselves for being worthless. Another obvious sign of suicide is that suicidal individual would also start making preparation once they decided to end their lives. For example, they start giving out their possessions, write a suicide note, make a will, and saying goodbye to friends and families. This is because they wanted to ensure that everything is well-arranged to avoid troubling anyone after ending their lives.

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If you happen to encounter any individual that is at risk of suicide, please do not ignore them. You should show your support, try being a listener to them, or even just simply being there for them. Likewise, for individuals who display any of the mentioned or other warning signs, please try to reach out to anyone you trust or professionals. If you are having suicidal thoughts, we want you to know that there are many people out there who are willing to help and care for you! The world is big and it is full of uncertainties as well as exciting things, foods, and events to explore. We believe that if you seek appropriate help, you will be able to slowly overcome the issues you are going through most importantly, seize the chance to experience live life.

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Below are some relevant contacts that you may reach out to if you or anyone you know needs them.

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References/Resources:

  1. NIMH » Warning Signs of Suicide (nih.gov)
  2. Suicidal Behavior | MentalHealth.gov
  3. Suicidal warning signs - Beyond Blue



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