QUICK FACTS

• 70% of people who die by suicide tell someone about it in advance, and most are not in treatment.
• Those who have made serious attempts are at much higher risk for actually taking their lives. Between 20 and 40% of people who kill themselves have previously attempted suicide.
• Nearly 50% of suicide victims have a positive blood alcohol level.
• Although most depressed people are not suicidal, most suicidal people are depressed.
• Serious depression can be manifested in obvious sadness, but often is expressed instead as a loss of pleasure or withdrawal from activities that were once enjoyable.
• Sometimes those contemplating suicide talk as if they are saying goodbye or going away forever.

RESOURCES AND OTHER FACT SHEETS

• Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN USA) provides "facts on suicide"
• Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance's (DBSA) suicide prevention facts and strategies, and information on depression and bipolar disorder
• About Depression & Suicide, from the National Hopeline Network
• American Association of Suicidology (AAS) fact sheets, including versions in Spanish
• Facts on suicide in special populations, and facts on depression from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
• United States suicide statistics from the American Association of Suicidology (AAS)