Why Do People Die By Suicide?

Information in this article may be triggering to some. If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

Mental Illness

An analysis of 65 studies found that 31% of people withmajor depressive order(MDD) have attempted suicide at some point.

Other mental illnesses that can increase the risk of suicide include:

Can You Die From Depression?

Traumatic Stress

People who’ve had a traumatic experience such aschildhood sexual abuse, rape, physical abuse, or war trauma are at a greater risk for suicide, even many years after the trauma occurred. This risk is especially high for men who’ve gone through a traumatic life event.

Being diagnosed withpost-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD)or enduring multiple trauma events raises the risk even further.This is partly because depression is common after trauma and among those with PTSD, causing feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that can lead to suicide.

The Connection Between Suicide and PTSD

Substance Use and Impulsivity

Rates ofsubstance use disorderandalcohol use disorderare also higher among people with depression and other psychological disorders.Put these together and the risks increase.

Loss or Fear of Loss

A person may decide to take their own life when facing a loss or the fear of a loss. These situations can include:

Why Do People Die By Suicide?

Hopelessness

Hopelessness, either in the short-term or as a longer-lasting trait, has been found in many studies to contribute tosuicidal ideation. And the higher the person’s degree of hopelessness, the greater the lethality of their suicide attempt.

When people have lost all hope and don’t feel able to change this, it can overshadow all of the good things in their life, making suicide seem like a viable option.

The person may be facing a social or physical challenge and see no way the situation can improve. While it might seem obvious to an outside observer that things will get better, people with depression may not be able to recognize this due to the pessimism and despair that go along with this illness.

Chronic Pain and Illness

If a person has chronic pain or illness with no hope of a cure or reprieve from suffering, suicide may seem like a way to regain dignity or control of their life. In some states, assisted suicide has been legalized or decriminalized for this very reason.

According to a study in theAmerican Journal of Preventative Medicine,the following health conditions were associated with a higher risk of suicide:

Chronic pain can also bring on anxiety and depression, which can increase the risk of suicide. According to research, more than half of people living with chronic pain have significant depression and anxiety symptoms.

Chronic Disease and Mental Health

Feeling Like a Burden to Others

Feeling like a burden often shows up in some form of thinking “the world would be better without me.” This type of rhetoric is one of the most common explanations for suicidal behavior according to the interpersonal theory of suicide.

Social isolationcan increase a person’s suicidal thoughts and behaviors and is one of the top risk factors correlated with suicidal outcomes.Isolation socially can also lead to other suicide risk factors, including loneliness, depression, and alcohol or drug misuse.

Loneliness: Causes and Health Consequences

Cry for Help

Sometimes people attempt suicide not so much because they really want to die, but because they simply don’t know how to get help. Mimicking the act of suicide without an intent to kill yourself is referred to as parasuicide.In cases such as these, suicide attempts become a way to demonstrate to the world just how much they are hurting.

Unfortunately, a person’s cries for help sometimes prove to be fatal if they misjudge the lethality of their chosen method. People who make a failed attempt are also at a much higher risk of trying again, and their subsequent attempts are much more likely to be lethal.

Accidental Suicide

Some situations that appear to be suicide may actually be an accidental death.Risky viral trendslike the choking game (also known as “pass-out challenge,” “flatliner,” and “space monkey”) where teens strangle themselves to achieve a high-like sensation and autoerotic asphyxiation are examples of suffocation suicides. Unintentional overdoses, firearm discharges, and poisonings can all also lead to accidental suicide.

A Word From Verywell

If you are struggling with the loss of someone to suicide, a mental health professional can help. They can work with you to identify ways to get through your grief, which can help you move forward mentally and emotionally.

What Is Grief Counseling?

17 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.Risk factors, protective factors, and warning signs.Dong M, Zeng LN, Li XH, et al.Prevalence of suicide attempt in individuals with major depressive disorder: a meta-analysis of observational surveys.Psycholog Med. 2019;49(10):1691-1704. doi:10.1017/S0033291718002301Paris J.Suicidality in borderline personality disorder.Medicina. 2019;55(6):223. doi:10.3390/medicina55060223Portzky G, van Heeringen K, Vervaet M.Attempted suicide in patients with eating disorders.Crisis. 2014;35(6):378-387. doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000275Ásgeirsdóttir HG, Valdimarsdóttir UA, Þorsteinsdóttir ÞK, et al.The association between different traumatic life events and suicidality.Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2018;9(1):1510279. doi:10.1080/20008198.2018.1510279LeBouthillier DM, McMillan KA, Thibodeau MA, Asmundson GJG.Types and number of traumas associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in PTSD: Findings from a U.S. nationally representative sample.J Traumat Stress. 2015;28(3):183-190. doi:10.1002/jts.22010Breet E, Goldstone D, Bantjes J.Substance use and suicidal ideation and behaviour in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):549. doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5425-6Iqbal MN, Levin CJ, Levin FR.Treatment for substance use disorder with co-occurring mental illness.Focus. 2019;17(2):88-97. doi:10.1176/appi.focus.20180042Franklin JC, Ribeiro JD, Fox KR, et al.Risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A meta-analysis of 50 years of research.Psycholog Bull. 2017;143(2):187-232. doi:10.1037/bul0000084Jaiswal SV, Faye AD, Gore SP, Shah HR, Kamath RM.Stressful life events, hopelessness, and suicidal intent in patients admitted with attempted suicide in a tertiary care general hospital.J Postgrad Med. 2016;62(2):102-4. doi:10.4103/0022-3859.180556Jones DA, Paton D.How does legalization of physician assisted suicide affect rates of suicide?South Med J. 2015;108(10):599-694. doi:10.14423/SMJ.0000000000000349Ahmedani BK, Peterson EL, Hu Y, et al.Major physical health conditions and risk of suicide.Am J Prev Med. 2017;53(3):308-315. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2017.04.001Lerman SF, Rudich Z, Brill S, Shalev H, Shahar G.Longitudinal associations between depression, anxiety, pain, and pain-related disability in chronic pain patients.Psychosomat Med. 2015;77(3):333-41. doi:10.1097/PSY.0000000000000158Fernández-Cabana M, Ceballos-Espinoza F, Mateos R, Alves-PérezMT, García-Caballero AA.Suicide notes: Clinical and linguistic analysis from the perspective of the interpersonal theory of suicide.Eur J Psychiatry. 2015;29(4):293-308. doi:10.4321/S0213-61632015000400006Calati R, Ferrari C, Brittner M, et al.Suicidal thoughts and behaviors and social isolation: A narrative review of the literature.J Affect Disord. 2019;245:653-667. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.022National Library of Medicine.Parasuicide.Kar N, Arun M, Mohanty M, Bastia B.Scale for assessment of lethality of suicide attempt.Indian J Psychiatry. 2014;56(4):337-343. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.146512

17 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.Risk factors, protective factors, and warning signs.Dong M, Zeng LN, Li XH, et al.Prevalence of suicide attempt in individuals with major depressive disorder: a meta-analysis of observational surveys.Psycholog Med. 2019;49(10):1691-1704. doi:10.1017/S0033291718002301Paris J.Suicidality in borderline personality disorder.Medicina. 2019;55(6):223. doi:10.3390/medicina55060223Portzky G, van Heeringen K, Vervaet M.Attempted suicide in patients with eating disorders.Crisis. 2014;35(6):378-387. doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000275Ásgeirsdóttir HG, Valdimarsdóttir UA, Þorsteinsdóttir ÞK, et al.The association between different traumatic life events and suicidality.Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2018;9(1):1510279. doi:10.1080/20008198.2018.1510279LeBouthillier DM, McMillan KA, Thibodeau MA, Asmundson GJG.Types and number of traumas associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in PTSD: Findings from a U.S. nationally representative sample.J Traumat Stress. 2015;28(3):183-190. doi:10.1002/jts.22010Breet E, Goldstone D, Bantjes J.Substance use and suicidal ideation and behaviour in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):549. doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5425-6Iqbal MN, Levin CJ, Levin FR.Treatment for substance use disorder with co-occurring mental illness.Focus. 2019;17(2):88-97. doi:10.1176/appi.focus.20180042Franklin JC, Ribeiro JD, Fox KR, et al.Risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A meta-analysis of 50 years of research.Psycholog Bull. 2017;143(2):187-232. doi:10.1037/bul0000084Jaiswal SV, Faye AD, Gore SP, Shah HR, Kamath RM.Stressful life events, hopelessness, and suicidal intent in patients admitted with attempted suicide in a tertiary care general hospital.J Postgrad Med. 2016;62(2):102-4. doi:10.4103/0022-3859.180556Jones DA, Paton D.How does legalization of physician assisted suicide affect rates of suicide?South Med J. 2015;108(10):599-694. doi:10.14423/SMJ.0000000000000349Ahmedani BK, Peterson EL, Hu Y, et al.Major physical health conditions and risk of suicide.Am J Prev Med. 2017;53(3):308-315. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2017.04.001Lerman SF, Rudich Z, Brill S, Shalev H, Shahar G.Longitudinal associations between depression, anxiety, pain, and pain-related disability in chronic pain patients.Psychosomat Med. 2015;77(3):333-41. doi:10.1097/PSY.0000000000000158Fernández-Cabana M, Ceballos-Espinoza F, Mateos R, Alves-PérezMT, García-Caballero AA.Suicide notes: Clinical and linguistic analysis from the perspective of the interpersonal theory of suicide.Eur J Psychiatry. 2015;29(4):293-308. doi:10.4321/S0213-61632015000400006Calati R, Ferrari C, Brittner M, et al.Suicidal thoughts and behaviors and social isolation: A narrative review of the literature.J Affect Disord. 2019;245:653-667. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.022National Library of Medicine.Parasuicide.Kar N, Arun M, Mohanty M, Bastia B.Scale for assessment of lethality of suicide attempt.Indian J Psychiatry. 2014;56(4):337-343. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.146512

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.Risk factors, protective factors, and warning signs.Dong M, Zeng LN, Li XH, et al.Prevalence of suicide attempt in individuals with major depressive disorder: a meta-analysis of observational surveys.Psycholog Med. 2019;49(10):1691-1704. doi:10.1017/S0033291718002301Paris J.Suicidality in borderline personality disorder.Medicina. 2019;55(6):223. doi:10.3390/medicina55060223Portzky G, van Heeringen K, Vervaet M.Attempted suicide in patients with eating disorders.Crisis. 2014;35(6):378-387. doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000275Ásgeirsdóttir HG, Valdimarsdóttir UA, Þorsteinsdóttir ÞK, et al.The association between different traumatic life events and suicidality.Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2018;9(1):1510279. doi:10.1080/20008198.2018.1510279LeBouthillier DM, McMillan KA, Thibodeau MA, Asmundson GJG.Types and number of traumas associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in PTSD: Findings from a U.S. nationally representative sample.J Traumat Stress. 2015;28(3):183-190. doi:10.1002/jts.22010Breet E, Goldstone D, Bantjes J.Substance use and suicidal ideation and behaviour in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):549. doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5425-6Iqbal MN, Levin CJ, Levin FR.Treatment for substance use disorder with co-occurring mental illness.Focus. 2019;17(2):88-97. doi:10.1176/appi.focus.20180042Franklin JC, Ribeiro JD, Fox KR, et al.Risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A meta-analysis of 50 years of research.Psycholog Bull. 2017;143(2):187-232. doi:10.1037/bul0000084Jaiswal SV, Faye AD, Gore SP, Shah HR, Kamath RM.Stressful life events, hopelessness, and suicidal intent in patients admitted with attempted suicide in a tertiary care general hospital.J Postgrad Med. 2016;62(2):102-4. doi:10.4103/0022-3859.180556Jones DA, Paton D.How does legalization of physician assisted suicide affect rates of suicide?South Med J. 2015;108(10):599-694. doi:10.14423/SMJ.0000000000000349Ahmedani BK, Peterson EL, Hu Y, et al.Major physical health conditions and risk of suicide.Am J Prev Med. 2017;53(3):308-315. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2017.04.001Lerman SF, Rudich Z, Brill S, Shalev H, Shahar G.Longitudinal associations between depression, anxiety, pain, and pain-related disability in chronic pain patients.Psychosomat Med. 2015;77(3):333-41. doi:10.1097/PSY.0000000000000158Fernández-Cabana M, Ceballos-Espinoza F, Mateos R, Alves-PérezMT, García-Caballero AA.Suicide notes: Clinical and linguistic analysis from the perspective of the interpersonal theory of suicide.Eur J Psychiatry. 2015;29(4):293-308. doi:10.4321/S0213-61632015000400006Calati R, Ferrari C, Brittner M, et al.Suicidal thoughts and behaviors and social isolation: A narrative review of the literature.J Affect Disord. 2019;245:653-667. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.022National Library of Medicine.Parasuicide.Kar N, Arun M, Mohanty M, Bastia B.Scale for assessment of lethality of suicide attempt.Indian J Psychiatry. 2014;56(4):337-343. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.146512

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.Risk factors, protective factors, and warning signs.

Dong M, Zeng LN, Li XH, et al.Prevalence of suicide attempt in individuals with major depressive disorder: a meta-analysis of observational surveys.Psycholog Med. 2019;49(10):1691-1704. doi:10.1017/S0033291718002301

Paris J.Suicidality in borderline personality disorder.Medicina. 2019;55(6):223. doi:10.3390/medicina55060223

Portzky G, van Heeringen K, Vervaet M.Attempted suicide in patients with eating disorders.Crisis. 2014;35(6):378-387. doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000275

Ásgeirsdóttir HG, Valdimarsdóttir UA, Þorsteinsdóttir ÞK, et al.The association between different traumatic life events and suicidality.Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2018;9(1):1510279. doi:10.1080/20008198.2018.1510279

LeBouthillier DM, McMillan KA, Thibodeau MA, Asmundson GJG.Types and number of traumas associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in PTSD: Findings from a U.S. nationally representative sample.J Traumat Stress. 2015;28(3):183-190. doi:10.1002/jts.22010

Breet E, Goldstone D, Bantjes J.Substance use and suicidal ideation and behaviour in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):549. doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5425-6

Iqbal MN, Levin CJ, Levin FR.Treatment for substance use disorder with co-occurring mental illness.Focus. 2019;17(2):88-97. doi:10.1176/appi.focus.20180042

Franklin JC, Ribeiro JD, Fox KR, et al.Risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A meta-analysis of 50 years of research.Psycholog Bull. 2017;143(2):187-232. doi:10.1037/bul0000084

Jaiswal SV, Faye AD, Gore SP, Shah HR, Kamath RM.Stressful life events, hopelessness, and suicidal intent in patients admitted with attempted suicide in a tertiary care general hospital.J Postgrad Med. 2016;62(2):102-4. doi:10.4103/0022-3859.180556

Jones DA, Paton D.How does legalization of physician assisted suicide affect rates of suicide?South Med J. 2015;108(10):599-694. doi:10.14423/SMJ.0000000000000349

Ahmedani BK, Peterson EL, Hu Y, et al.Major physical health conditions and risk of suicide.Am J Prev Med. 2017;53(3):308-315. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2017.04.001

Lerman SF, Rudich Z, Brill S, Shalev H, Shahar G.Longitudinal associations between depression, anxiety, pain, and pain-related disability in chronic pain patients.Psychosomat Med. 2015;77(3):333-41. doi:10.1097/PSY.0000000000000158

Fernández-Cabana M, Ceballos-Espinoza F, Mateos R, Alves-PérezMT, García-Caballero AA.Suicide notes: Clinical and linguistic analysis from the perspective of the interpersonal theory of suicide.Eur J Psychiatry. 2015;29(4):293-308. doi:10.4321/S0213-61632015000400006

Calati R, Ferrari C, Brittner M, et al.Suicidal thoughts and behaviors and social isolation: A narrative review of the literature.J Affect Disord. 2019;245:653-667. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.022

National Library of Medicine.Parasuicide.

Kar N, Arun M, Mohanty M, Bastia B.Scale for assessment of lethality of suicide attempt.Indian J Psychiatry. 2014;56(4):337-343. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.146512

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?

Mental Illness#

Traumatic Stress#

Substance Use and Impulsivity#

Loss or Fear of Loss#

Hopelessness#

Chronic Pain and Illness#

Feeling Like a Burden to Others#

Social Isolation#

Cry for Help#

Accidental Suicide#

A Word From Verywell#