How do people fail to kill themselves.

I'm not sure if this is the right place, or if GD would be better, and I'm being serious mods so I hope you don't slap a warning on me for being inquisitive even if it is a sensitive topic.

Basically, I've been thinking, I've seen a lot of people saying they want to kill themselves, or that they tried to but failed etc but I don't understand how you can fail to do so.

According to wikipedia:
"Nearly a million people worldwide die by suicide annually. There are an estimated 10 to 20 million attempted suicides every year."

Meaning only 1 in 10 to 1 in 20 people actually succeed. Why is it that people seem to fail so often?

Reply 1

cpj1987

15

It's not something you plan, generally, and a lack of planning/thinking things through can lead to failure.

That, or attempting but changing your mind half-way through; I think that still counts.

Reply 2

nanananabatman

10

People think an overdose of paracetamol will kill them. It'll just leave you clutching your stomach, lying on the floor with a silly tummyache. That's how they fail to kill themselves.

Reply 3

Thud

OP

17

cpj1987

It's not something you plan, generally, and a lack of planning/thinking things through can lead to failure.

That, or attempting but changing your mind half-way through; I think that still counts.

In many of the mental health websites where suicide is mentioned it says to ask the person you're worried about if they've a) thought about it and b) planned it.

This would imply to me that some form of planning does take place. Also if you're in the kind of state of mind to want to kill yourself surely you'd want to make sure it doesn't go wrong (ie. lock the door).

Reply 4

Llamaaa

15

I would have thought part of that figure is thanks to the attention seekers. Other people are saved by loved ones, or they change their mind and call an ambulance (eg. in overdose, wrist-slitting cases). Or they just don't plan it well enough. They think that falling 5 stories will kill them, but really it just leaves them paralysed. Other than that, i don't know :smile:

Reply 5

cpj1987

15

Thud

In many of the mental health websites where suicide is mentioned it says to ask the person you're worried about if they've a) thought about it and b) planned it.

This would imply to me that some form of planning does take place. Also if you're in the kind of state of mind to want to kill yourself surely you'd want to make sure it doesn't go wrong (ie. lock the door).

Well; I tried twice in my younger, more stupid days (around the age of 13/14) and it wasn't something pre-meditated; I just suddenly decided and looked around for the most suitable option. So maybe some people do plan it, but not all do.

Both of my attempts (obviously) failed due to my own stupidity and lack of planning (thank goodness).

Reply 6

rottcodd

3

Somebody might plan to commit suicide, but also, perhaps unconsciously, half-plan to fail. It's a cry for help. Somebody might feel so trapped that they can't speak to anyone about what is going on inside their head, and a suicide attempt is a way of asking for help without actually having to ask for it.

Reply 7

Collingwood

15

nanananabatman

People think an overdose of paracetamol will kill them. It'll just leave you clutching your stomach, lying on the floor with a silly tummyache. That's how they fail to kill themselves.

Don't listen to this person. Paracetamol overdose will lead to an agonising death from acute liver failure unless you have a transplant fairly quickly.

Reply 8

idiot

1

This seems fairly intuitively obvious to me.

1. Most of your brain is hard-wired to make you stay alive, and only a very small part of it is in control of the actions you're trying to carry out in order to kill yourself.
2. It's not something people generally have a lot of practice or training in.
3. People who kill themselves are usually not in a very good mental state for planning and executing such an unusual idea.

Reply 9

Gilliwoo

People don't tend to know how their own bodies work, so their attempts at suicide are often amateurish.

Reply 10

Thud

OP

17

idiot

This seems fairly intuitively obvious to me.

1. Most of your brain is hard-wired to make you stay alive, and only a very small part of it is in control of the actions you're trying to carry out in order to kill yourself.
2. It's not something people generally have a lot of practice or training in.
3. People who kill themselves are usually not in a very good mental state for planning and executing such an unusual idea.

So why does it say on the mental health websites that they do plan it? And that it's the second question you should ask someone is if they have a plan.

I just don't understand how people can fail to do it unless they don't actually want to die. I'm not being heartless, I know they must be in a terrible way to think about it but still...they fail.

Reply 11

lil_danza

1

Collingwood

Don't listen to this person. Paracetamol overdose will lead to an agonising death from acute liver failure unless you have a transplant fairly quickly.

yup. Not a good way to go.

It's not quite as easy to kill yourself as people think. For lots of reasons- the human body can withstand a hell of a lot more than you might think. And things go wrong- an overdose can take days to kill you. If you plan it to be dead within 5-6 hours, chances are you'll be found/saved. Or you'll end up vomiting as your body tries to save itself. Or you'll not have the noose tied quite tight enough/be found and end up brain damaged. Or you'll land off that bridge/building at the wrong angle and end up paralysed instead of dead.

The aftermath/repercussions of a failed suicide attempt can be awful :s-smilie:

Reply 12

Riim

My friend once had more than 20 paracetamols and was bleeding for 2-3 months without stopping.

Reply 13

Little_Miss_Naughty

2

People don't research the topic thoroughly so try a method that won't work (overdosing on off-the-shelf meds for example). They may change their mind half way through, or they may actually be 'rescued'.

Reply 14

AngryJellyfish

Chat Forum Helper, Entertainment Forum Helper

18

Lack of knowledge resulting in a non-fatal wound.
Second thoughts at the last minute.
Being discovered and stopped.

Those were the first three things to come to my mind.

Reply 15

~tifa

10

SO whats a good way to suicide than? ....just curious.

Reply 16

Wangers

16

Collingwood

Don't listen to this person. Paracetamol overdose will lead to an agonising death from acute liver failure unless you have a transplant fairly quickly.

Why does this happen?

Reply 17

lil_danza

1

Wangers

Why does this happen?

I would assume that paracetamol is processed in the liver, so a toxic dose poisons/kills the liver cells?..

Reply 18

Laevis

13

I've always found this quite interesting too ;yes;

I think it's more to do with the type of person that tries to kill themselves, or the state of mind they're in at the time. But, I'll try and respond more thoroughly later; I've just woken up :blushing:

Reply 19

idiot

1

Thud

So why does it say on the mental health websites that they do plan it? And that it's the second question you should ask someone is if they have a plan.

I didn't mean that they don't plan it at all, just that they're mentally ill so their plans usually suck.

How do people fail to kill themselves.

Related discussions

Articles for you