The Sad Truth on Taking One’s Life

Suicide is considered to be one of the top killers of the young.  In 2007, suicide is regarded as the 10th leading cause of death in America with numbers reaching as high as 34, 598 deaths. It is also considered as the third leading cause of death in young people with ages 15-24. A lot of us don’t understand why people end their lives at their own hands. One cannot understand suicide by mere thought as this is a complex behaviour with several factors as its cause. Depression is considered to be one that may cause an individual to commit suicide. Depression can be handled by taking antidepressants but the when taking drugs like Zoloft especially at pregnancy may be more risky than be beneficial. According to research, there are a number of risk factors for suicide and these are as follows:

Biopsychosocial Factors
• Mental Disorders such as depression, substance abuse, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders and certain personality disorders like borderline or a combination of them.
• Family History of Suicide
• History of trauma and violence
• Major physical illness like cancer and diabetes
• Previous suicidal attempts

Environmental Factors
• Job or financial loss
• Strain in relationships
• Easy access to things used for suicide such as firearms or poisons
 
Socio-cultural Risk Factors
• Lack of a good support system
• Inability to access quality health care especially for mental health
• Cultural and religious beliefs (other beliefs perceive suicide as a noble act such as Harakiri in Japan)
• Exposure to suicidal behaviours

The risks for attempted suicide are more difficult to identify because recognizing suicidal behaviors may be relative. These risk factors may be present in a lot of people but they are not suicidal. Based on statistics, women are less likely to commit suicide than men.  Also, investigations were able to identify that the risk for suicide is due to brain activity changes because of imbalanced serotonin levels. This might serve as an explanation on why 90 percent of those who commit suicide have mental disorders.

Medications may help in the management of the disorder but some reports indicated that it can worsen the condition that might lead to the commission of suicide. The FDA has released a public health advisory on Zoloft, an antidepressant, not only because short term studies revealed that children and adolescents taking this medication had increased risk of suicidal ideations and attempts but also because Zoloft birth defects were reported when the drug is taken at the third trimester of pregnancy.