Over 90 percent of people who die by suicide have a mental illness at the time
of their death.
And the most common mental illness is depression.
Untreated depression is the number one cause for suicide.
Untreated mental illness (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia,
and others) is the cause for the vast majority of suicides.
Also, some
people are genetically predisposed to depression, and thus they may not appear to be undergoing any negative life experiences,
yet still become depressed, and may die by suicide.
So, some people
die by suicide because of a depression that was caused by genetics. You probably have heard about some indivuduals who died
by suicide and did not exhibit any symptoms or appear to have any serious problems. In these cases, it is possible that the
person had depression that occured because of this genetic factor.
It
is very rare that someone dies by suicide because of one cause. Thus, there are usually several causes, and not just one,
for suicide.
Many people die by suicide because depression is triggered
by several negative life experiences, and the person does not receive treatment – or does not receive effective treatment
– for the depression. (Some people need to go through several treatments until they find one that works for them.)
Some of the negative life experiences that may cause depression, and
some other causes for depression, include:
- The death
of a loved one.
- A divorce, separation, or breakup of a relationship.
- Losing custody of children, or feeling that a child custody decision is not fair.
- A serious loss, such as a loss of a job, house, or money.
- A serious illness.
- A terminal
illness.
- A serious accident.
- Chronic physical pain.
- Intense
emotional pain.
- Loss of hope.
- Being victimized (domestic violence, rape, assault, etc).
- A loved one being victimized (child murder, child molestation, kidnapping, murder, rape, assault,
etc.).
- Physical abuse.
- Verbal abuse.
- Sexual abuse.
- Unresolved abuse (of any kind) from the past.
- Feeling "trapped" in a situation perceived as negative.
- Feeling that things will never "get better."
- Feeling
helpless.
- Serious legal problems, such as criminal prosecution
or incarceration.
- Feeling "taken advantage of."
- Inability to deal with a perceived "humiliating" situation.
- Inability to deal with a perceived "failure."
- Alcohol abuse.
- Drug abuse.
- A feeling of not being accepted by family, friends, or society.
- A horrible disappointment.
- Feeling
like one has not lived up to his or her high expectations or those of another.
- Bullying. (Adults, as well as children, can be bullied.)
- Low self-esteem.
Again, the above causes may trigger depression,
and untreated depression is the number one cause for suicide.
Know what the symptoms of depression are – you should review the information on the depression and suicide page of this website – and if you or someone you know is depressed, get help immediately.
And remember that any untreated mental illness, including
depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and others, may cause suicide.
