Questions And Answers For Suicide Survivors

For anyone contemplating the final step of suicide as a solution to their problem, the support and counsel of a family member or friend can mean the different, literally, between life and death for that individual. Sometimes the window of opportunity is very narrow, and if there is some support available, and if the person is taken seriously at this stage, the opportunity can be closed off permanently, and the suicidal person placed in the hands of professionals who can help them develop the skills and attitudes they currently lack to deal with their problems.

By accessing the services of a specialist psychologist Brisbane people affected by the suicide of a friend or relative can identify and work through the emotions associated with the event. Some of the questions you may ask cannot always be easily answered, some of them can

If someone tells me they are thinking about suicide, should I take them seriously?

You should definitely listen to them. Don’t judge them, this could make them worse, help them instead to find a professional counsellor to help them work through their emotions. People in this state of distress are unable to see way out of their problems. Usually depression, alcohol or other substance abuse, or an extremely stressful event is the cause. The person should not be left alone, nor have access to any means of suicide.

What is the most common method of suicide?

This varies from country to country, and between men and women. In the US, 60% of all suicides are by firearms, but Australian statistics show that 85% of all suicides were by one of four methods:

=> hanging, suffocation and strangulation

=> poisoning by solids, liquids and gases

=> drug poisoning

=> firearms and explosives

What makes people more vulnerable to suicidal behaviour than others?

This is a difficult question as suicide is a complex phenomenon but there are four factors which make a person vulnerable:

=> predisposing factors (eg age, personality, family and biological/genetic variables)

=> triggering factors (eg loss/separation, family stress/violence, unemployment)

=> moderating factors (eg culture, values, religion) and

=> protective factors (eg coping ability, problem solving, social support)

Each individual’s trigger is different, they don’t always occur in the same way.

How do family and friends cope with such a horrific event?

Suicide survivors are the relatives, friends, co-workers and others who knew the person, and are deeply affected. The most common reactions are shock, disbelief, guilt and self-blame, looking for a scapegoat, looking for answers or reasons, anger towards the deceased, loss of trust and an examination of their own values.

This information is very brief considering the size of the subject, but when seeking counselling Brisbane suicide survivors will find this gives them some framework to begin the process of making sense of what has happened.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, February 26th, 2011 at 4:40 pm and is filed under Depression. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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