Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and cognitive disengagement syndrome), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and substance abuse (including alcoholism and benzodiazepine use and withdrawal) are risk factors.
Some suicides are impulsive acts due to stress (such as from financial or academic difficulties), relationship problems (such as breakups or divorces), or harassment and bullying. Those who have previously attempted suicide are at a higher risk for future attempts. Effective suicide prevention efforts include limiting access to methods of suicide such as firearms, drugs, and poisons; treating mental disorders and substance abuse; careful media reporting about suicide; improving economic conditions; and dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT). Although crisis hotlines, like 988, are common resources, their effectiveness has not been well studied.
Suicides resulted in 828,000 deaths globally in 2015, an increase from 712,000 deaths in 1990. This makes suicide the 10th leading cause of death worldwide. Approximately 1.5% of all deaths worldwide are by suicide. In a given year, this is roughly 12 per 100,000 people. By gender, suicide rates are generally higher among men than women, ranging from 1.5 times higher in the developing world to 3.5 times higher in the developed world; in the Western world, non-fatal suicide attempts are more common among young people and women. Suicide is generally most common among those over the age of 70; however, in certain countries, those aged between 15 and 30 are at the highest risk. Europe had the highest rates of suicide by region in 2015. There are an estimated 10 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year. Non-fatal suicide attempts may lead to injury and long-term disabilities. The most commonly adopted method of suicide varies from country to country and is partly related to the availability of effective means.
Views on suicide have been influenced by broad existential themes such as religion, honor, and the meaning of life. The Abrahamic religions traditionally consider suicide as an offense towards God due to belief in the sanctity of life. During the samurai era in Japan, a form of suicide known as seppuku (腹切り, harakiri) was respected as a means of making up for failure or as a form of protest. Similarly, a ritual fast unto death, known as Vatakkiruttal (Tamil: வடக்கிருத்தல், Vaṭakkiruttal, 'fasting facing north'), was a Tamil ritual suicide in ancient India during the Sangam age. Suicide and attempted suicide, while previously illegal, are no longer so in most Western countries. It remains a criminal offense in some countries. In the 20th and 21st centuries, suicide has been used on rare occasions as a form of protest; it has also been committed while or after murdering others, a tactic that has been used both militarily and by terrorists. Suicide is often seen as a major catastrophe causing significant grief to the deceased's relatives, friends and community members, and it is viewed negatively almost everywhere around the world.
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