by Stephanie Kurasiewicz

Created on: October 16, 2009

Recognize and Assist

Suicide takes the lives of many teenagers and adults every year. A person contemplating suicide is in a great deal of pain and most often feels hopeless to end the pain. A person who is feeling suicidal is in desperate need of help. You can make a difference if you know the person is having these thoughts. There are ways to recognize if a person is considering suicide, and it is possible to help.

There are many signals that a person is considering suicide. Some signals are more obvious than others, but it is important to try and realize if these signals are present. The most obvious sign is if the person begins talking about taking his or her own life. People who are suicidal can become fascinated by death and may think and speak about it often. If there are sudden changes in a person's personality and they no longer seem to participate in usual activities, they may be in need of help. The main thing to do is to pay attention. Suicidal individuals may drop hints that are obvious, but they may also be subtle hints as well. If you are close to the individual you should be able to notice sudden personality and behavioral changes.

If you suspect that a person is suicidal, it is very important to stay close to that person. When you are incapable of being around, try and make sure there will be other people that will be around. As long as there are people around to keep the person from acting upon the suicidal thoughts it will be less likely that the person will commit suicide. A suicidal person is in need of further help from a mental health professional. Once a person feels hopeless, it is very difficult to change their thoughts on the matter.

Recognizing that a person may be having suicidal thought and try to help them can make a dramatic difference in the lives of many. If a person commits suicide, not only has his or her life ended, but it can cause extremely high levels of pain to all the people who are close to that person. Even if a person attempts suicide, but does not succeed, there can also be very harmful and possibly lasting or permanent physical damage. If a person is suffering with thoughts of suicide, the problem is unlikely to disappear if left untreated. You could be crucial in helping this individual.

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