Even if they have the same risk factors, some people are at a higher risk for suicide than others. This is partly because of genetic inheritance. Genetics causes about 30–50% of the difference in suicide risk among different people. For example, a person whose parent died by suicide is much more likely to try to kill themselves. Epigenetics may also affect suicide risk.
How the media shows news stories of suicide may have a negative effect and trigger the possibility of copycat suicides (this is called the Werther effect). This risk is greater in teenagers and young adults.
The opposite of the Werther effect is the Papageno effect. This means that the media can help make suicide less likely if they cover good ways of dealing with stress and difficult things in life.
A person is also more likely to die by suicide if:
Protective factors make it less likely that a person will die by suicide. They help "protect" a person from the risk of suicide. They can also help protect a suicidal person from the effects of suicidal thinking.
Protective factors can be "internal", such as a person's personal strengths and beliefs. For example:
Protective factors can also be "external," such as a person's relationships and life situation. These factors can include:
Protective factors are as important to identify as risk factors. Just as risk factors can be reduced, protective factors can be increased.
Suicide prevention tries to decrease the number of suicides by using protective measures. Some prevention strategies make it harder for people to get the most common things used to commit suicide. This includes taking away guns, poisons, and drugs.
Studies have shown that good treatment of depression, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse can decrease the number of suicides. So does follow-up contact with those who have made a suicide attempt.
In many countries, people who are at high risk of hurting themselves can check themselves into a hospital emergency department. In some countries or states, a doctor, judge, or police officer can force a person to go to the hospital if they seem suicidal, even if the person does not want to go. The person will be watched closely at the hospital to make sure they do not hurt themselves. A doctor or mental health professional will decide whether the person needs to go to a psychiatric hospital.
"SOS Signs of Suicide" is a suicide prevention program used in secondary schools for students between 13 and 17 years old. The program educations students about suicide, and tests them for suicide risk. Students who have done this program make less suicide attempts than students who have not done the program.
Suicide hotlines and crisis intervention centers help students who are at high risk. They help people who have suicidal thoughts.
A suicide risk assessment looks at how likely a person is to attempt suicide. A good assessment can help prevent a suicide. It is also the first step in coming up with a treatment plan. Even though suicide risk assessments are very important, they are usually not done. Many mental health care workers have little or no training in how to do a suicide risk assessment.
Worldwide suicide rates have increased by 60% in the past 45 years, mainly in the developing countries. As of 2006:
According to 2007 information, suicides happen twice as often as homicides in the United States. Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the country, ahead of liver disease and Parkinson's disease.
Suicide rates vary a great deal across the world. Lithuania has the highest suicide rate.
30% of deaths by suicide are by people who are intoxicated.(
In the United States, suicide has been increasing for African American teens. Native Americans and whites have the highest rate of suicide in the United States. More blacks than whites have committed suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The most common ways of death by suicide are not the same in every country. In different areas, they include hanging, pesticide poisoning, and firearms.
A 2008 report compared 56 countries, using information from the World Health Organization. It found that:
Other people in the world die by suicide by:
Sometimes, suicidal people do something that will make another person kill them. For example, a suicidal person might point a gun at a police officer, so the police officer will shoot the person in self-defense. This is commonly called "suicide by cop."
Modern medicine treats suicide as a mental health issue. When a person starts having many thoughts about killing themselves, it is considered a medical emergency.
The Abrahamic religions (like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) think that life is sacred. They believe that when a person kills themselves, they are murdering what God has made. For this reason, many followers of Abrahamic religions thinks that when a person dies by suicide, they will go to Hell.
The Dharmic and Taoist religions (like Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto) believe that someone who does by suicide will be reincarnated in the next life with a less enlightened soul. However, many people of these religions are more likely to die by suicide because they believe that there will be a next life. They think that by dying by suicide, they may have a better chance in the next life.
There are several famous examples of suicide attacks in history. The Kamikazes were one example. They were Japanese fighter pilots during World War II, who would try to kill American soldiers by crashing their planes into American ships. By crashing their planes, they would kill themselves as well.
The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States were also done by suicide attackers. They flew planes into the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon.
Learn more about suicide and how to get help for yourself or others
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Balkans
The Balkans is a peninsula in Europe. The region has a combined area of 550,000 km² and an approximate population of 55 million people. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia and then continue to Slovenia as the Dinaric Alps.
Name
Balkans comes from the Turkish language meaning “chain of wooded mountains” or 'swampy forest'.
The Balkans are bordered by water on three sides: the Black Sea to the east and branches of the Mediterranean Sea to the south and west (including the Adriatic, Ionian, Aegean and Marmara seas). The Balkan Peninsula is bordered on the north by the Danube, Sava, and Krča rivers.
Countries in the Balkan region are:
Other countries that are not in the Balkan region but that are close to it and/or play or have played an important role in the region's politics, culture and history:
The region's principal nationalities include:
The most common religions in the Balkans are Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Christianity and Sunni Islam. Many different specific kinds of each faith are practiced, with each of the Eastern Orthodox countries having its own national church with its own patriarch.
Eastern Orthodoxy is the principal religion in the following countries:
Roman Catholicism is the principal religion in the following countries:
Islam is the principal religion in the following countries:
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a special case - 50% are Muslim Bosniaks, 31% are Serbian Orthodox, and 15% are Catholic Croats (therefore 46% are Christian). The remaining 4% adhere to other denominations of Christianity, other religions, or are irreligious.
For more detailed information and a precise ethnic breakdown see articles about particular states:
Bicentennial