Several years ago The Poly comics section printed the Top Ten Reasons Why People Commit Suicide. This bit of morbid humor may have seemed in bad taste to some, yet I realize that at times there is tension relief provided by making light of things that typically are upsetting and frightening. Make no mistake about it, the threat of someone close to one committing suicide is very frightening, and the impact on the survivors of suicide can be devastating.
Just over 30,000 people in the U.S. kill themselves each year while perhaps hundreds of thousands of others make non-lethal attempts. Among college students suicide is the second leading cause of death with an estimated 5,000 suicides and as many as a half million attempts a year—with four times as many men than women dying due to suicide.
Most of us have had, or will have, fleeting thoughts of death as a means of escaping from an unpleasant situation at some time in our lives. It is when the thoughts are more than just fleeting that there is need for concern. The National College Health Risk Behavior study (1995) has found that as many as 11.4 percent of college students have seriously considered attempting suicide. The National College Health Assessment Survey, done in the Spring 2003 semester (33 schools and 19,497 student participants), produced essentially the same results; 10 percent indicated having seriously considered suicide during the preceding year. Data reported on http://www.Ulifeline.org (see last section of this article) indicates that 1 in 12 college students go so far as to make a suicide plan, and 7.5 of every 100,000 succeed in taking their lives. Ninety percent of adolescent suicide victims have at least one diagnosable/treatable disorder, but only 15 percent were in treatment at the time of death. How many deaths could have been prevented if more were in treatment?
At Rensselaer I do not believe we have had a death by suicide in about 15 years. However, there may be as many as a half-dozen attempts each year of varying degree of seriousness, that we are aware of. Of the students seen at the Counseling Center in 2000, 2001, and 2002, 22.9 percent indicated at intake on our problem checklist that they had thoughts that “Life was not worth living” within the six months before coming to see us. The percentage that had considered or attempted killing themselves during the previous six months was 13.3 percent, while the percentage for such thoughts at any time in their lives was 30.5 percent. The percentage of those who had plans to take their lives within the past six months was 1.9 percent. We intend in the future to survey the general Rensselaer student population and compare these figures, as well as the national survey figures, with those from our problem checklist.
The suicidal person is usually not seeking death per se but rather seeking relief from what feels like an intolerable life situation. Not only is the situation intolerable, but the suicidal person has also lost all hope of being able to correct the situation and find happiness in life. This person no longer believes he or she has control over his or her life, and usually suffers from a very poor self image.
Reasons for Suicide
Leaving whimsical top ten lists aside, why do people attempt suicide? The following is a more accurate “Top Ten” list of specific reasons why people may see suicide as the “only way” to escape pain. (Taken from Understanding Suicide, Life Skills Education)
-A prolonged, paralyzing depression.
-Fear of failure and rejection.
-Fear of being alone.
-Feelings of guilt over what one has done or failed to do.
-Anger which is directed at oneself rather than at others. There may be a wish to punish others who will supposedly feel awful after one is dead.
-Irrational behavior brought about by use of drugs or alcohol.
-Grief over a loss.
-A desire to be in control of one’s life, with suicide being seen as the only way to be in control.
-A desire to bring about needed changes in one’s life, such as escaping from a physically or emotionally abusive situation.
-A way to get love and attention. Here a person may believe that recognition only comes if he or she is sick or dying and never for one’s value as a living person.
-A desire to end a life not worth living. These people see themselves as bad, or irreversibly defective and not deserving to be alive.
The bottom line in all these cases is that the person does not so much want to die but rather to change their lives.
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a three part series about suicide precention by Joseph Albert, Ph.D., Director of the Counseling Center. The Counseling Center’s e-mail address is counseling@rpi.edu, and Dr. Albert can be reached directly at alberj@rpi.edu.
