Warning Signs of Suicide

August 4, 2023

3 min read

Suicide doesn’t have one single type of cause and suicidal ideation can look very different for different people. When learning about the warning signs of suicide it’s best to keep an open mind, because it’s easy to assume someone in your life is doing fine when they might be quietly struggling.

While it can be difficult to tell for certain when something is considering suicide or wants to die by suicide, there are some warning signs that you can look out for.

Below are some ways you can tell if someone is ideating suicide and its warning signs.

Suicide Risk Factors

Before we dive into the warning signs, it’s important to understand some of the risk factors. Risk factors are environmental, psychological, and biological circumstances that may increase the likelihood of any person ideating suicide.

Common risk factors for suicide include:

Depression: Depression is thought to be the leading cause of suicide. According to the Centre for Suicide Prevention, depression is present in at least 50% of all suicide, and 50% - 80% of older adults who die by suicide have major depression. Therefore, do not minimize anyone’s depression and always encourage a friend or family member who suffers from depression to seek help from a mental health professional.
Questioning their gender or sexuality: Suicide rates are higher in young transgender, gay, or bisexual people. So if one of your friends or loved ones has recently come out as LGBTQ+, make sure to check in on them and support them.
Gender: While women are more likely to attempt suicide, men are much more likely to complete suicide. In 2021, men died by suicide 3.9 times more than women.
Ethnicity: Ethnicity is also a risk factor: American Indian / Native Alaskan and non-Hispanic white people are at the highest risk of suicide.

Other Risk Factors:

Past suicide attempts
Family history of suicide
Loss of a loved one
Someone close to the person has died by suicide
Loss of home, job, and/or money
Loss of a major relationship or divorce
Recent rejection or life disappointment
Recently fired from a job or expelled from school
Being a victim of assault or bullying
Has substance abuse problems

Warning Sign: Speech

One of the best and most apparent ways to tell if someone wants to die by suicide is by paying attention to how they’re speaking. If they are talking about being a burden to others or that others would be better off without them, this is a serious warning sign that they are at immediate risk.

Other speech-related warning signs include:

They talk about wanting to die.
They talk about killing themselves.
They talk about their guilt or shame.
They talk about feeling hopeless or worthless with no reason to carry on living.

Warning Sign: Mood

Paying attention to someone’s mood and how they feel can you give insights into their mindset. Mood-related warning sides include:

Mood swings. Especially appearing calmer and happier after periods of depression and sadness.
Reckless behavior. If they’re planning to die by suicide, they may not care so much about controlling their behavior.
Agitated or anxious actions.
Extreme irritability or rage and talking about getting revenge.
General hostility and anger that isn’t normal for them.

Warning Sign: Actions

If someone is considering suicide and planning for it, you’ll begin to see their actions change. Actions that can signal suicide include:

Looking for drugs or weapons that they can use to kill themselves.
Making arrangements for after they die like writing a will or giving away their possessions.
Withdrawing from friends and isolating themselves.
Increasing alcohol and drug use.
Changes in sleep, either sleeping too little or too much.

Getting Help

Suicide can affect just about anyone. It’s vital that we all learn more about the risk factors and warning sides so that if a friend or loved one is considering or planning suicide, we can get them the help they need.

If you’re ever worried that someone you know is at risk of suicide, reach out to them, offer support, and encourage them to seek help from a therapist or psychiatrist.

In many cases, suicide is preventable, with the right support and care, mental health professionals can help people at risk of suicide recover and lead a happy life. It’s also important that you never dismiss someone when they say they want to die or kill themselves. Even the people who seem the most happy or most unlikely to die by suicide could be at risk.

If you or a loved one is contemplating suicide, call (or text) 988, which is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

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