If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, contact the national hotline at 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433). There are many warning signs of suicide. For more information, visit the American Association of Suicidology’s website. CDC is not a hospital or a treatment facility. CDC has no facilities for seeing patients and is thereby unable to diagnose illnesses, provide treatment, prescribe medications, or make referrals to specialists.

Suicide (taking one’s own life) is a serious public health problem that devastates individuals, families, and communities. It is the 11th leading cause of death among Americans (Anderson and Smith 2003). Completed suicides are only part of the problem. More people are hospitalized or treated and released as a result of suicide attempts than are fatally injured. While suicide is often viewed as a response to a single stressful event, it is a far more complicated issue. Suicide results from complex interactions between biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors.

Suicide evokes difficult and uncomfortable reactions in most people. Too often, victims are blamed and surviving friends and family members are stigmatized. Consequently, suicide is shrouded in secrecy. This limits the amount of available information that is crucial to suicide prevention activities.

Research over the past several decades has uncovered a wealth of information on the causes of suicide and the strategies to prevent it. Many studies have identified factors that either increase or reduce the likelihood that a person will attempt or commit suicide. CDC is using this information to develop and implement prevention programs to reduce the numbers of attempted and completed suicides.

Reference

Anderson RN, Smith BL. Deaths: leading causes for 2001. National Vital Statistics Report 2003;52(9):1-86.