Suicide

Suicidality is a continuum ranging from suicidal ideation to suicide attempt to completed suicide. Suicidality may mean intensification of risk factors or weakening of protective factors. Every minute one person commits suicide. Unemployment is a major risk factor. Stigma against suicide led to discrimination against victims. Situation preceding suicide is usually preceded by excess of adverse life events and stressors. Modern theories stress multifactorial causation ? interaction of predisposing and precipitating factors versus protective factors. Stressor is usually state dependent (life event). Diathesis reflects trait characteristics (impulsivity). Genetics and traumatic experiences in childhood lead to trait-dependent factors which act as predisposition. In India many cases occur after examination failure or love failure among child and adolescent populations. Elderly have highest rate of suicide among all groups. Most persons communicate intent before the act. Psychiatric disorder is less common in deliberate self harm attempters than suicide attempters. Two common approaches in treatment of suicide attempters are to treat the underlying disorder and to directly treat suicidality. No single method can prevent suicide in all persons at risk. Psychological autopsy is the method applied to suicide prevention, crisis intervention and research to identify persons at risk. Suicide survivor refers to those who have lost a loved one to suicide not to those who have attempted suicide but survived.