Suicide
hideSuicide (Latin suicidium, from sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the intentional taking of one's own life. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest" (e.g., "political suicide"). Suicide may occur for a number of reasons, including depression, shame, guilt, desperation, physical pain, emotional pressure, anxiety, financial difficulties, or other undesirable situations. The World Health Organization noted that over one million people commit suicide every year, and that it is one of the leading causes of death among teenagers and adults under 35. There are an estimated 10 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year worldwide.
Views on suicide have been influenced by cultural views on existential themes such as religion, honor, and the meaning of life. The Abrahamic religions consider suicide an offense towards God due to religious belief in the sanctity of life. In the West it was often regarded as a serious crime. Japanese views on honor and religion led to seppuku, one of the most painful methods of suicide, to be respected as a means to atone for mistakes or failure, or as a form of protest during the samurai era. In the 20th century, suicide in the form of self-immolation has been used as a form of protest, and in the form of kamikaze and suicide bombing as a military or terrorist tactic. Sati is a Hindu funeral practice in which the widow would immolate herself on her husband's funeral pyre, either willingly, or under pressure from the family and in-laws.
Medically assisted suicide (euthanasia, or the right to die) is currently a controversial ethical issue involving people who are terminally ill, in extreme pain, and/or have minimal quality of life through injury or illness. Self-sacrifice for others is not usually considered suicide, as the goal is not to kill oneself but to save another.
The predominant view of modern medicine is that suicide is a mental health concern, associated with psychological factors such as the difficulty of coping with depression, inescapable suffering or fear, or other mental disorders and pressures. A suicide attempt is sometimes interpreted as a "cry for help" and attention, or to express despair and the wish to escape, rather than a genuine intent to die. Most people who attempt suicide do not complete suicide on a first attempt; those who later gain a history of repetitions have a significantly higher probability of eventual completion of suicide.
For more information about Suicide, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with suicide
Targeting teen depression
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Psychologist Mona Taouk is developing a world-first questionnaire to identify young people at risk of depression and suicide.
Minn. man suspected of encouraging suicides
Oct 19, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A nurse who authorities say got his kicks by visiting Internet suicide chat rooms and encouraging depressed people to kill themselves is under investigation in at least two deaths and could face criminal ...
Monitoring social networking sites could prevent suicide
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Analysing posts on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook could help to prevent suicide, according to two Victoria University researchers.
Does work kill in the country of 35-hour week?
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 06, 2009 |
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Short work weeks, enviably long lunches and vacations their American or Japanese counterparts can only dream of: French labour conditions are well-known to be among the most generous in the world.
Helping Loved Ones Bereaved By Suicide Or Self-Inflicted Death
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Oct 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Research by a University of Derby sociologist explores how families bereaved by suicide are finding ways to deal with the enormity of their loss. Caroline Simone, Subject Leader of Joint Honours ...
Smoking cessation drug not linked to an increased risk of self harm or depression
Medicine & Health / Medications
Oct 01, 2009 |
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There is no strong evidence that the popular smoking cessation drug varenicline increases the risk of self harm or depression compared to other cessation products, according to new research published on BMJ.com today.
Physician-assisted suicide does not increase severity of depression, grief among family members
Sep 30, 2009 |
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Unlike other forms of suicide, physician assisted death does not cause substantial regret, or a sense of rejection among surviving family members. In addition, the prevalence and severity of depression and grief among family ...
Celebs spawn copycat suicides, study confirms
Sep 30, 2009 |
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Dr Alex Mesoudi, from Queen Mary's newly established Research Centre for Psychology, has found evidence that the increasing reach and influence of the media, combined with a growing number of people assigned celebrity status, ...
Elderly suicide risk after previous attempts varies by sex
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Sep 28, 2009 |
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In older age groups, repeated suicide attempts constitute an increased risk for completed suicide in depressed women, while severe attempts constitute an increased risk for depressed men. Researchers writing in the open access ...
Too many bars in rural America linked to high suicide rates instead of idyllic life
Sep 18, 2009 |
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There is a strong relationship between drinking and taking one's own life. In any given year, people with alcohol dependence (AD) commit more than 20 percent of suicides in the general population; some 80 to 90 percent of ...
Study: 8 million Americans consider suicide
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Sep 17, 2009 |
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(AP) -- More than 8 million Americans seriously consider suicide each year, according to a new government study.
Researchers looking for genetic predictors for suicide
Sep 09, 2009 |
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Every 16 minutes, an American commits suicide. It's the 11th leading cause of death in this country, a fact being widely noted during National Suicide Prevention Week Sept. 6-12. And now researchers at the University of ...
Runaway girls reap strong benefits from nurse interventions
Aug 26, 2009 |
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A nurse intervention program that helps sexually exploited runaway girls re-connect to family, school and health care reduces trauma and restores healthy behaviors, according to a new study led by University of British Columbia ...
US-born Asian-American women more likely to think about, attempt suicide
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Aug 17, 2009 |
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Although Asian-Americans as a group have lower rates of thinking about and attempting suicide than the national average, U.S.-born Asian-American women seem to be particularly at risk for suicidal behavior, according to new ...
Wide range of mental disorders increase the chance of suicidal thoughts and behaviors
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Aug 11, 2009 |
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Although depression is the mental disorder that most people associate with suicidal behavior, a new study reveals that a wide range of mental disorders increase the odds of thinking about suicide and making suicide attempts. ...
