Get answers and answers about suicide. Click each item on the left to learn more.
We have put together a list of helpful links on suicide eduction, resources, and our partners.
National Alliance on Mental Illness
Community for Hope of Greater Oshkosh
Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services
If you think someone is suicidal, do not leave him or her alone.
Try to get the person to seek immediate help from his or her doctor or the nearest hospital emergency room, or call 911.
Eliminate access to firearms or other potential tools for suicide, including unsupervised access to medications.
Call 1-800-273-TALK
Call 1-800- SUICIDE
Winnebago County Crisis 920-233-7707
Outagamie County Crisis 920-832-4646
Research helps determine which factors can be modified to help prevent suicide and which interventions are appropriate for specific groups of people. Before being put into practice, prevention programs should be tested through research to determine their safety and effectiveness.8 For example, because research has shown that mental and substance-abuse disorders are major risk factors for suicide, many programs also focus on treating these disorders as well as addressing suicide risk directly.
Studies showed that a type of psychotherapy called cognitive therapy reduced the rate of repeated suicide attempts by 50 percent during a year of follow-up. A previous suicide attempt is among the strongest predictors of subsequent suicide, and cognitive therapy helps suicide attempters consider alternative actions when thoughts of self-harm arise.9
Specific kinds of psychotherapy may be helpful for specific groups of people. For example, a treatment called dialectical behavior therapy reduced suicide attempts by half, compared with other kinds of therapy, in people with borderline personality disorder (a serious disorder of emotion regulation).10
The medication clozapine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for suicide prevention in people with schizophrenia.11 Other promising medications and psychosocial treatments for suicidal people are being tested.
Since research shows that older adults and women who die by suicide are likely to have seen a primary care provider in the year before death, improving primary-care providers’ ability to recognize and treat risk factors may help prevent suicide among these groups.12 Improving outreach to men at risk is a major challenge in need of investigation.
Of every 100,000 people in each of the following ethnic/racial groups below, the following number died by suicide in 2007.1
Older Americans are disproportionately likely to die by suicide.
In 2007, suicide was the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24.1 Of every 100,000 young people in each age group, the following number died by suicide:1
As in the general population, young people were much more likely to use firearms, suffocation, and poisoning than other methods of suicide, overall. However, while adolescents and young adults were more likely to use firearms than suffocation, children were dramatically more likely to use suffocation.1
There were also gender differences in suicide among young people, as follows:
| Suicide by: | Males (%) | Females (%) |
| Firearms | 56 | 30 |
| Suffocation | 24 | 21 |
| Poisoning | 13 | 40 |
Research shows that risk factors for suicide include:
However, suicide and suicidal behavior are not normal responses to stress; many people have these risk factors, but are not suicidal. Research also shows that the risk for suicide is associated with changes in brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, including serotonin. Decreased levels of serotonin have been found in people with depression, impulsive disorders, and a history of suicide attempts, and in the brains of suicide victims. 4
Call this toll-free number, available 24 hours a day, every day: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You will reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a service available to anyone. You may call for yourself or for someone you care about. All calls are confidential.
A fact sheet of statistics on suicide with information on treatments and suicide prevention.
Suicide is a major, preventable public health problem. In 2007, it was the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for 34,598 deaths.1 The overall rate was 11.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 people.1 An estimated 11 attempted suicides occur per every suicide death.1
Suicidal behavior is complex. Some risk factors vary with age, gender, or ethnic group and may occur in combination or change over time.