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Introduction

Suicide is when people harm themselves with the goal of ending their life. Because suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, knowing the warning signs for suicide and how to get support can help save lives. The information on this page are to provide resources for strengthening suicide prevention and mental health crisis services.

Warning Signs

Warning signs are behaviors people exhibit that indicate they are at serious risk of attempting suicide. Some warning signs to look out for are if they:

• talk about wanting to die or wanting to kill themselves
• talk about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live
• feel unbearable emotion or pain
• talk or think about death often
• withdraw from loved ones and make a will
• use drugs or alcohol more often
• take dangerous risks

Risk Factors

A combination of many situations could cause someone to consider suicide. Risk factors are characteristics or conditions increase the possibility of suicide, but they might not be direct causes. Some risk factors are if they:

• had a previous suicide attempt
• have a serious mental illness
• have a substance abuse disorder
• had adverse childhood experiences