Suicide Risk Factors and Signs

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People dependent on drugs or alcohol are five times more likely to attempt suicide.

Substance abuse increases the risk of suicide for women six-and-a-half times.

Blister tabs and limiting pack sizes are effective ways prevent some overdoses.

While more people in America kill themselves with a firearm than by any other means, the majority of people who attempt suicide do it by overdosing.

The relationship between drugs and suicide is complicated because drugs are both a means of suicide and a risk factor for it. They are a means because they offer the seemingly peaceful prospect of falling asleep and never waking up. People may not have access to a gun, know how to direct their car’s exhaust, be willing to hang themselves, or want to jump from a high place, but swallowing a bunch of pills is easy and seemingly painless.

Drugs are also a risk factor for suicide because people who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol tend to lose their inhibitions and take risks that they normally wouldn’t take.

According to one medical professional, “As the consequences of addiction pile up, from........

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