Warning Signs

• Signs of depression
• Sadness
• Loss of sleep or excessive sleep
• Loss of appetite or overeating
• Sense of hopelessness or worthlessness
• Noticeable change in behavior
• Alcohol and drug abuse
• Decline in performance of work, school, or other activities
• Reckless behavior
• Giving away favorite possessions
• Purchase of gun or pills
• Sudden happiness after prolonged depression
• Preoccupation with death and dying
• Withdrawal from friends or family
• Statements like, “You won’t have to worry about me anymore,” “I want to go to sleep and never wake up”
• Threats of suicide

Risk Factors

• Previous suicide attempt
• Loss of health (real or imagined)
• Divorce, separation, or broken relationship
• Death or terminal illness of a loved one
• Loss of job, home, money
• Family history of suicide
• Depression
• Someone close to individual has completed suicide