Suicide

Suicide
Classification and external resources
The Suicide by Édouard Manet 1877–1881
ICD-10	X60.–X84.
ICD-9	E950
MedlinePlus	001554
eMedicine	article/288598
MeSH	F01.145.126.980.875

Suicide is when a person chooses to kill themselves.^[1] When someone kills themselves, people say that they have "committed suicide," "completed suicide," or "died by suicide". When a person seriously considers killing themselves, they are described as suicidal.

Suicide is one of the top three causes of death for young people aged 14–35. It is the second most common cause of death for college students. Every 3 seconds, a person somewhere in the world tries to kill themselves. Every 40 seconds, someone dies by suicide. For every suicide, at least six other people are seriously affected.(WHO 2000) When people start having thoughts about killing themselves, it may be a medical emergency.^[2] They should get a suicide risk assessment as soon as possible. They should not be left alone.

There are many reasons why a person might think about suicide. Most people who are suicidal have some type of mental disorder. They may have a chronic condition, which has been going on for a long time. But it may be an acute condition, which means the first symptoms of mental illness happened rather quickly. Depression is a mental illness that may affect a person to have suicidal thoughts. Depression may also be a symptom of other mental or medical disorders. Another mental condition which may lead to self-harm or suicide is schizophrenia. The stress of life, and its events, like losing a job or getting sick, are less likely to cause suicide. Other causes of suicidal thoughts are extreme cases of bullying and social isolation. Although depression is the main factor in suicide, it is also treatable, and suicide is often preventable.

1. ↑ The word suicide comes from the Latin words sui caedere, which means "to kill oneself".
2. ↑ Chang B, Gitlin D, Patel R (September 2011). "The depressed patient and suicidal patient in the emergency department: evidence-based management and treatment strategies". Emergency Medicine Practice. 13 (9): 1–23, quiz 23–4. PMID 22164363.