The Sorrow of Suicide
Awareness and Action Can Help Save a Life

 

Suicide is tragic. It cuts a life short, and it devastates the family, friends and loved ones left behind. Those who survive a suicide attempt might end up with severe disability or other injuries. The children of people who die by suicide are more likely to later die by suicide themselves. With such extreme consequences, why would anyone make the dire decision to choose death over life?
 

That’s a question scientists have been struggling to answer for decades. “When you’re in a suicidal state, you’re kind of closing down your options. You see it as the only solution. You’re not really able to entertain other ideas,” says Dr. Jane Pearson, who heads a suicide research consortium at NIH. “What’s the science behind that? What’s happening in the brain that leads people to think so dysfunctionally?”
 

Only 20 years ago, little was known about the biology of suicide. But NIH-funded research has helped to open up new avenues for exploring the underlying causes of suicide. While the biological details are still being worked out, scientists have uncovered many clues to identify people at greatest risk for suicidal thoughts and actions.
 

For the rest of the story go to National Institutes of Health newsletter  link.