6 Ways to Cope With Suicidal Thoughts

Suicidal thoughts are a lot more common than you might think. That's why it's crucial to be aware of suicidal behaviors in yourself or friends and family, and ways you can prevent suicide.

Did you know that suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US? In 2019, nearly 1.4 million suicide attempts were made and over 47 thousand people died by suicide.

Women are more likely to attempt suicide, but men are more likely to die by suicide—in fact, the highest rate of suicide is in middle-aged white men, with white males accounting for nearly 70% of suicide deaths in 2019.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.

It's also important to note that there are alarming trends within groups of marginalized people. For example, suicide rates are higher in those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, likely due in part to hostility and discrimination against LGBTQIA+ individuals. The suicide rate for American Indian and Alaskan Native individuals was 1.6 times higher than the all-race suicide rate in the US in the late 2000s. From 2003 to 2017, Black youth experienced a significant upward trend in suicide rates, with the largest annual percentage in the 15 to 17 age group and among girls.

This may all feel like just a bunch of statistics, but they feel startling to me and drive home the point that we all need to be aware of how suicide and suicidal thoughts can impact us as individuals and look out for each other. No group of people is immune to suicidal thoughts, behaviors, attempts, or deaths.

Scoping out suicidal behaviors in yourself or others

So, what behaviors should you be on the lookout for?

First, I want to say that it’s not uncommon to have a fleeting suicidal thought even if you don’t have a diagnosable mental illness. Many people have had a low day and thought to themselves, "I wish I wasn’t alive right now."

This is an example of passive suicidal thoughts. Passive suicidal ideation occurs when you wish you could die or that you were dead, but you don’t have an intention or plan to commit suicide. Active suicidal ideation involves the thoughts, intention, and plan to follow through on suicide.

Here is a list of potential risk factors to look out for:

1. If a person has a history of suicidal behaviors which include a history of attempts, aborted attempts, or self-injurious behavior (e.g. cutting, burning).
2. Current or past mental health diagnoses like depression, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, substance use disorders, traumatic brain injuries, ADHD, PTSD, and personality disorders like Borderline Personality Disorder.
3. They may start to show signs that they have lost interest in things, feel a sense of...

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