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