Comments on: How to Recognize the Signs of Suicide

on 12/8/2009 Sometimes its just a way to get from point A to point B. Its not about solving anything or prevention, its a choice you make like whether to wear a heavy coat shopping or a light one. And sometimes there is no other choice.

on 10/22/2008 comment to Whoami no disrespect none at all i'm sure your brother didn't mean to hurt his children but sometimes it is sooo hard to look past the darkness u feel like u r drowning in a pool of darkness i know. but i to have a only child a son i ALWAY'S try 2 keep him my main focus but i belive sometimes u break it may not b physical pain but sometimes it almost would b better it it was it's easier 4 others 2 understand. please dont b angry w/ him

on 8/3/2008 My brother committed suicide about 7 years ago. It ended his pain (maybe). but caused so much more pain than he could have ever imagined. His son was 12 his daughter 1yr old. How dare he. How many people did he hurt deeply trying to selfishly end his own pain. If you would please just stop and think how much unbearable pain this causes others who love you...And they DO LOVE YOU...you couldn't do it if you really love them.

on 7/20/2008 Great article. Sometimes a person does not say anything about suicide though. It's hard to see the clues. Sometimes they will just start giving away things that were once important to him/her and shut down. I guess it's different in every case.

on 9/25/2006 Someone very close to me recently committed suicide. And most people say that they just want attention for saying that they're going to kill themselves. Sometimes that's the case, but most of the time its not. It is not okay for someone to want to die. They need to get help, no one should have to feel that way. Take any suicidal threat very seriously. Most people who are stressed, feel guilty, overwhelmed, worthless, useless or hurt are more likely to think about suicide than giving the future a chance.

Call someone! Don't try to handle it on your own.
It just takes one time to take your life.

on 8/8/2006 Coming from someone who's been there and knows; suicide and self-injury may be a cry for help, but it's a cry that needs to be answered. If you know someone who you think is at risk, try to talk to them. Just be careful not to yell or get mad or anything. Trust me, that's the worst thing you can do. Be there for them.

on 6/30/2006 A while ago, a distant friend took his own life. He was successful, sociable, well liked, and never seemed overly stressed. In his note, he said that he thought he had disappointed people.

I know he had close friends, and I always wonder if they could have seen it coming.

My tip: always check with your friends to see how they're doing, especially if they are busy, stressed, or not acting like themselves. Let everyone know how much you love them, even if you don't know them that well.

on 3/30/2006 Everyone assumes a suicidal teenager wants attention. That's what everyone told me. "If you wanted to kill yourself, you'd just do it." So, finally, I did. I took about a bottle of an anti psychotic and they found me the next day. I was in the hospital for a day or two. Afterward, and to this day, they tell me it was just me wanting attention and I never wanted to die. Yeah, that helps.
People need to stop ignoring people who are suicidal. Maybe, for a second, think that they want attention because they want help. It's worth helping these people.

on 11/22/2005 My roommate opted to take his own life 2 nights ago. He did tell me he was going to end his life earlier that evening. I took his gun and hid his knives. I sat him down and talked with him about it. At one point he cut on his wrist. When he came out and showed me I noticed they were just superficial cuts, and it struck me that he was just wanting attention and crying out for help. I felt that if he really wanted to do it, he wouldn't have told me prior to pulling a trigger, since he knew i wouldn't let that happen. He also would have slit his wrists more severely. I told him that if it kept up that I would have no choice but to call 911. He then stopped looking for his gun and knives. He was very inebriated that night, stumbling and falling repeatedly, and he finally went to bed and left his door open for me so I could check on him periodically. An hour or so later he came out of his room fully dressed with a blanket over his shoulder. I asked him where he was going and he told me he was going to go find a place to sleep. I believed him, and thought he just wanted some privacy and maybe was embarrassed for being so drunk. I didn't realize that under that blanket he had a Russian assault rifle. He went a couple blocks to his work where he had a storage shed, opened it and got ammo for the rifle and took his life.

My 2 tips that I would like to share are:
1. I thought I was pretty good at reading people all my life and really did not think he would do it or had the physical capacity to do what it took in his drunken state. He obviously wasn't just trying to get attention and was serious. Take all attempts at suicide seriously.
2. I had kept him safe for hours. It got to the point that I just didn't have the mental energy to keep up. Call for help.