Topic #14 - Myths about Suicide

MYTH: Children don't know enough to kill themselves.

FACT: Children DO know how to hut and/or kill themselves. Television provides the model, means, and methods. Significant others in a child's life may also provide the model of suicide as a way of solving a problem.

MYTH: Childhood and adolescence is a carefree, trouble-free time of life, filled with only minor problems and adjustments.

FACT: Children are no longer as protected from outside influences as they once were. They are exposed to the harsh realities of the world at ages when they are most impressionable, thus contributing to their fears and anxieties.

MYTH: People need only to look on the bright side of lie to feel better.

FACT: For those who are thinking of suicide, it is difficult, if not impossible, to see the bright side of life. To acknowledge that there is a bright side only confirms and conveys the message that they have failed, otherwise they too could have a bright side of life.

MYTH: Talking about suicide puts the thought into people's heads.

FACT: If the clues are being broadcasted, talking about suicide won't put the thoughts there. It is there already. Talking about suicide removes the fears that the person is crazy and alone, and also takes away the guilt for thinking that way.

MYTH: People who make suicide attempts are only looking for attention.

FACT: It is true that people are looking for some attention, but they are looking for a way to ease their pain, for someone to hear their cries for help.

MYTH: Parents are responsible if their child attempts suicide.

FACT: Parents do the best they can with the information and coping skills they have. There is often denial and disbelief because the thought is too frightening. Also, there are some parents who are too fragile emotionally and psychologically to meet the needs of their child.

MYTH: People who make a suicide attempt are mentally ill.

FACT: People who make a suicide attempt are stressed beyond their coping abilities. They aren't necessarily mentally ill. Depressed, yes. Stressed, yes. Mentally ill, rarely.

MYTH: People who talk about suicide don't do it.

FACT: People who talk about suicide do kill themselves. Talk of suicide, not wanting to go on anymore, despair, and hopelessness are cries for help. These are signals that need to be taken seriously.

MYTH: Suicidal people are fully intent upon dying.

FACT: There is an ambivalence about dying. There is a need to end the pain but there is always the wish that something or someone will remove the pain so that life can continue.

MYTH: Acting-out behaviors and/or substance abuse are outlets for anger and thus reduce the risk of suicide.

FACT: These behaviors are signals of poor adjustment and they reflect the frustrations these people feel. When the drug/alcohol use and/or acting-out behaviors are unsuccessful in dealing with their hurt and problems, suicide becomes a greater possibility.

MYTH: When people begin to show signs of improvement, the suicide crisis is over.

FACT: When a person's mood or behavior improves, it may be because the indecision concerning suicide is over. Finally making the decision eliminates the anxiety. That decision could be FOR suicide.

MYTH: Once people contemplate or attempt suicide, they must be considered suicidal for the rest of their lives.

FACT: When the crisis is over and the problems leading to suicidal thought are resolved, then suicidal ideation usually ceases. It is possible, however, for suicide to still be an option for an individual, but as long as coping skills are adequate, it is not acted upon. When coping skills fail, the suicide may again become a strong option.