What is suicide?

The act or an instance of ending one’s own life intentionally and voluntarily

Suicidal Ideation (suicidal thoughts): thoughts, consideration, and/or preoccupation centered around one’s own death or ending one’s own life.

What is suicidal ideation (suicidal thoughts)?

Thoughts, consideration, and/or preoccupation centered around one’s own death or ending one’s own life.

How common is it?

Globally, 727,000 people die by suicide annually, with 10-40 attempts per completed suicide. It is the 4th leading cause of death in 15-29 year olds. Approximately 1.3%, or 1 in every 100 deaths are the result of suicide.

In the US alone, suicide results in nearly 50,000 per year with an estimated 1,500,000 attempts—that is 1 death every 11 minutes and 3 attempts every minute. Further, 12,800,000 American adults seriously thought about suicide, with 3,700,000 made a plan for suicide. Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the US overall, and the 4th leading cause in 25-44 year olds.

Are there treatments for suicidal ideation?

There are several evidence based brief interventions that help people through acute crises (e.g., Safety Planning Intervention [SPI]; Lethal Means Counseling [LMC]; & Crisis Response Planning [CRP]) as well as longer term talk therapies that focus on addressing the broader risk factors for suicide (e.g., Collaborative Management and Assessment of Suicidality [CAMS]; Cognitive Behavior for Suicide Prevention [CBT-SP/CT-SP]; & Dialectical Behavior Therapy [DBT]).

Where can I find the most up-to-date information about BPD?

• ABCT’s suicide fact sheet: https://www.abct.org/fact-sheets/suicide/

• ·Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) – Resources on what to look for from clinicians and where to find care

• APS’ articles/pages on suicide: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/tag/suicide