by Angela S. Young

Created on: July 14, 2007

There are many reasons why a person contemplates suicide, but basically it boils down to feeling more pain than you can cope with. The difference in reasons is the cause of the pain. Regardless of why, there are certain signs that can help you recognize that your friend is suicidal. Recognizing it is the first step in helping your friend gets the help s/he needs.

There are several symptoms or signs that may clue you in to your friend's suicidal state. One or two symptoms are probably not a problem, but taken as a whole with the following guidelines, it can show you what is going on with your friend.

First, is this different from previous behavior? Is your friend a chronic pessimist, or have they recently begun to see the dark side of life? Second, does your friend have several of these symptoms? The more symptoms you see, the more likely your friend is suicidal. Third, how strong and long are the symptoms? Are they genuinely grieving a current event, or do they seem to be having intense negative feelings that seem excessive given the happenings in their life or the time lapse? Do they see life as hopeless', or are they just experiencing sadness or grief? Are they just having a bad day or a bad week, or are these symptoms chronic, lasting for a long period of time?

Now that you know the guidelines, here are the symptoms to look for if you think your friend may be suicidal. Remember that not all the symptoms will be readily visible to you.

1. Have they tried to commit suicide before?
2. Have they been writing about suicide in the form of poetry, stories, or other?
3. Have the said, "I'm going to kill myself" or the more subtle, "I wish I were dead"?
4. Do they seem overly obsessed with death? Are they talking about death a lot? Are they continually thinking about someone who is dead or wanting to be with them?
5. Are they making plans for their final arrangements? Have they written a will, discussed their wishes for a funeral or their stuff', or have they started giving away their possessions?
6. Are they talking about religion and heaven or the afterlife more than normal? Do they seem obsessed or preoccupied by this?
7. Are they listening to songs about death or drawing/painting symbols or other aspects of death?
8. Have they withdrawn from friends and family and lost interest in doing the things they used to do?
9. Have they become reckless or aggressive as if they have a chip' on their shoulder or a death wish?
10. Have they stopped making good grades or started missing

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