Suicide can be defined as the act of intentionally taking one’s own life.
Suicide is mainly committed in cases of loss of hope in life, mental stress (major depressive disorder), mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and excessive alcohol and drug addiction. And when drugs are misused (Drug abuse) and mental stress factors such as economic difficulties and interpersonal relationship breakdowns also play a leading role in suicide.
Measures to prevent suicide include restricting the use of firearms by ordinary people, preventing mental illness and drug misuse, and economic development.
The main forms of suicide in the world vary from country to country and this is partly due to the fact that these forms do not exist in those countries. It has been found that between 8-10 lakh people worldwide commit suicide every year. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the world. Male suicide rates are three to four times higher than female suicide rates. It is also estimated that there are 10-20 million suicide attempts in the world that are not fatal. These non-fatal suicide attempts are mainly among young men and women.
Anger and ideologies about suicide are inspired by broad structural themes such as religion, dignity and the meaning of life. Religions believed to be descended from Abraham (such as Christianity, and Islam) believe in the purity of life, so suicide is considered a betrayal of God. In Japan’s samurai era, “seppukku” was revered as a way of admitting failure and voicing his protest. “Suttee” is an ancient funeral ritual in India. Here, after the death of her husband, the widow jumps into her husband’s bed and takes her own life due to her own will or pressure from family and society.
In the past, suicide or attempted suicide was considered a punishable crime in European countries, but the situation has changed in many European countries today. However, in many Islamic countries, suicide is a punishable crime. In the 20th and 21st centuries, suicide is often used as a means of protest. Also, during war conflicts, as a terrorist tactic, suicide bombs are used to destroy their own lives and the lives of hundreds of others. According to Buddhist philosophy, suicide is not approved at all. According to it, it is extremely rare to have a human life.
Definitions
Suicide is the act of taking one’s own life. Attempted suicide or non-fatal suicidal behaviour can result in permanent disability even if one’s life does not end in death (Assisted suicide) is when someone indirectly gives instructions, advice or tactics to someone else to take their own life. But a contrary situation occurs in Euthanasia. Here a person actively contributes to causing another person to die by suicide. In some countries, this is legalized.
Risk factors
In some years Factors influencing suicide in 16 states of the United States of America Psychiatric disorder, drug misuse, mental state, culture, family and social situation and genetics can be identified as factors affecting the risk of suicide. Mental illness and various substance/medication misuses also co-exist. Other risk factors include previous suicide attempts, readiness to commit suicide, family history of suicide, or severe brain injury.
For example, the suicide rate in households with firearms such as guns is much higher than the suicide rate in households without firearms. Socioeconomic factors such as unemployment, poverty, homelessness and discrimination also stimulate suicidal thoughts. 15% of those who commit suicide- 40% write a suicide note before death.
Genetics have been found to be responsible for 38%-55% of suicidal behaviour. Officers and soldiers with more experience and experience in war are more likely to commit suicide. This is because of conditions such as mental stress that often occur or physical weaknesses that occur on the war front.
Mental Illness
It is estimated that 27% to 90% of people who commit suicide have a mental illness. 8.6% of patients who are admitted to a psychiatric ward are at risk of committing suicide during their lifetime. Half of the people who commit suicide suffer from major depressive disorder and some suffer from one of the mood disorders such as bipolar disorder.
Other associated conditions are schizophrenia (14%), personality disorders (14%), bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. 5% of people with schizophrenia commit suicide Eating disorders are another risk factor.
The best predictor of suicide risk is a history of previous suicide attempts. Approximately 20% of suicides have had a previous attempt and of those who have attempted suicide 1% complete suicide within a year about 20% of suicides have had previous suicide attempts and 1% have committed suicide again within a year and 5% have committed suicide within 10 years. Self-harm is not considered a suicide attempt and this self-injury behaviour is related to increasing the risk of suicide.
Approximately 80% of people who commit suicide have seen a doctor at least once in the year before their death. And 45% of it is a month before death. Between 25-40% of people who commit suicide have had their mental health checked the year before death.
Substance/Medication Abuse
“The Drunkard’s Progress”, an addiction to drugs and alcohol leads to suicide.
Substance/medication abuse is the second leading risk factor for suicide after schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The risk of suicide increases further when personal grief such as the loss of a loved one is added. Substance/medication abuse is also associated with mental illness conditions.
And between 15% and 61% of suicides are due to excessive alcohol and drug use. Countries with high rates of alcohol and drug abuse and high concentrations of alcohol bars have high suicide rates. This link is primarily related to distilled spirit use rather than total alcohol use. 2.2%–3.4% of drug addiction treatment recipients commit suicide at some point in their lives. Drug addicts who commit suicide are usually male and older. And most of them have tried to commit suicide before. Between 3 and 35% of heroin users die by suicide (approximately 14 times the risk of non-users).
There is a correlation between cocaine and methamphetamine abuse and suicide. The greatest risk for cocaine users is during abstinence. 20% of volatile drug users attempt suicide at some point in their lives and more than 65% consider suicide. Cigarette use is also associated with the risk of suicide. Due to the health problems arising from the use of cigarettes, people think of taking their own lives. Also, smoking affects the chemical changes in the brain, increasing the risk of suicide. There is an assumption that people who are used to smoking are practising suicide. But there is not enough evidence to prove it.
Problem Gambling
Problem gambling parallels the growing concept of suicide, where suicide attempts are compared to the general population. Between 12%-24% of gambling addicts attempt suicide. The suicide rate among gamblers’ wives is about three times higher than the general population. Other factors that increase the risk of suicide due to gambling problems are mental illness, alcohol and drug, and drug abuse.
Health Conditions
There is a relationship between physical diseases and suicide. The main physical diseases that affect here are chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, cancer, hemodialysis, AIDS, and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. A diagnosis of cancer doubles the risk of suicide. Even if people recover from depression and drug addiction to some extent, the risk of suicide does not go away. The risk of suicide is very high when suffering from one or more physical or mental diseases. Health problems are named the main factor for suicide in Japan.
Insomnia diseases such as Insomnia and Sleep apnea affect depression and suicide. In some cases, insomnia directly affects suicide even if there is no depression. In many other suicidal health conditions, the symptoms of mood disorders such as Hypothyroidism, Alzheimer’s, Brain tumours, and systemic lupus erythematosus can be seen and the adverse effects of some treatments (beta blocks and steroids) are also affected here.
Mental States
Mental conditions such as lack of purpose in life, enjoyment, depression and chaos increase the risk of suicide. Weaknesses in solving problems, loss of abilities that one had and weaknesses in controlling sudden impulses play a major role here. Also, the feeling of being a nuisance to others the elderly are also affected by this.
Also, factors such as depression, job loss or social isolation due to the death of a close family member or friend increase the risk. Those who have never married and lived a single life for a long time have a very high risk of suicide. Living religiously can reduce one’s risk of suicide, which is important because many religions oppose suicide. Muslims have a very low suicide rate.
Someone is tempted to commit suicide due to injustice or harassment. If you were sexually abused as a child, being an adopted child from your real parents is a risk factor. Being a victim of sexual assault affects about 20% of suicide. The evolutionary interpretation of suicide is that it affects all fitness. This applies if the person who commits suicide is no longer able to have children and loses his possessions to his relatives by living. Opponents argue that a healthy young person does not develop any fitness by dying in this way (inclusive fitness).
An adaptation to another primitive environment may be an inappropriate adaptation to the present environment. Poverty and suicide risk. If one’s own poverty increases relative to others, it increases the risk. More than 200,000 farmers in India have committed suicide due to the inability to pay various loans. Due to China’s economic difficulties, the suicide rate in rural areas is believed to be three times higher than in urban areas.
Mass Media
Mass media, including the internet, play a huge role in suicide. There are also cases where suicide is catalyzed in the form of mass media reporting of suicide. Suicidality can be stimulated by extreme reporting such as high-volume reporting, highlighting, and repeated broadcasts. As a whole, by reporting a certain type of suicide in the media, people become aware of it, so that type of suicide may increase in the population.
This negative pattern or copying of suicide is known as the Weather Effect. This is introduced after Goethe’s leading citizen commits suicide. These dangers are common in the youth and because they see them, they can love to kill themselves. It has been found that the mass media that provide news has a direct effect on this, but the mass media that provides entertainment creates a feeling of disgust in the people. The opposite of the Weather effect is called the Popgun effect, where more effective suicide methods are copied and may have protective effects. This word lives on in Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute, fearing that his loved ones will commit suicide until he seeks help from his friends.
Suicide can be reduced if proper guidelines are followed in media reporting. While reporting is beneficial to some media, it can be detrimental to society in the long run.
Logical (Rational)
Rational suicide is giving reasons to justify taking one’s own life even though it is not rational. Losing one’s own life for the benefit of others is known as altruistic suicide. An example is a suicide to save a large amount of food for the younger generations of their community. In some Eskimo cultures, this is considered an honourable, intelligent and courageous act.
A suicide attack is a political act in which the aggressor unleashes violence on others and ultimately takes his own life. Suicide bombers kill themselves in anticipation of a massacre.
The “Kamikaze” operation was carried out because he considered it a moral obligation or a higher cause. Murder-suicide is when the murderer takes his own life after committing the crime. “Murder-suicide” is often done in order to give autonomy to a certain leader in the face of social pressure. Even two people together (suicide pact) can commit mass suicide.
Sometimes people use suicide as an escape tactic when they can’t bear to live anymore. Some of the inhabitants of the Nazi camps lost their lives by deliberately touching the electric fences.
Pathophysiology
There is no specific psychopathology for suicide or depression. . However, it is believed to be caused by an interaction of behavioural, socio-environmental and psychological factors. Low levels of brain-derived-neurotropic (BDNF) factors directly affect survival. And it indirectly affects depression, post-traumatic disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Postmortem studies have confirmed that BDNF levels decrease in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex with or without psychiatric conditions. A decrease in the neurotransmitter serotonin during suicide is believed to be based on evidence of increased 5-HT2A receptors found after death. A decrease in serotonin production and an increase in 5-hydroxyindolelactic acid in the cerebrospinal fluid are other factors. Direct evidence is however hard to gather. Direct evidence is not so easy to obtain. Epigenetic, or environmental factors, are believed to increase the risk of suicide by changing DNA based on gene expression.