Suicide raising ribbon
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According to a 2025 report by the US Foundation for the Prevention of Suicide, September is the national month of suicide prevention and a reminder to be careful about preventing this cause of death. Some may be confused on the reason that suicide is called the most preventive cause of death among emerging adults. For example, in 2024, Speakingofsuicide.comA website described self-described as providing resources for those affected by suicide, released a report called “No, suicide is not always preventive. “This report argued that suicide call can cause harm. the 2024 National Drug Use and Health Research reportwhich showed that the rates of serious suicidal thoughts in adolescents decreased from 13.5% in 2021 to 10.1% in 2024.
AFSP is not the only organization to call suicide that can be prevented. Last month, The federal government recognized in September as a month of raising awareness to prevention suicide. Below are three reasons why suicide is called preventive.
Emerging adults show lower levels of suicide intent
According to a study of 2022 in American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry; Elderly people with suicide attempts showed higher levels of suicide intent than younger adults with suicide attempted. Suicide intent is a determination to end one’s life and is more common in people who face issues at the end of life, such as medical problems, the death of a life partner, etc.
The suicide idea is thinking of suicide and is more common in people with overwhelming anxiety. Those with suicide ideas may attempt suicide, but these efforts often represent the desire to escape anxiety, as opposed to the end of life. According to a 2021 study in Brazilian magazine Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem; Suicide idea is significantly more common in younger adults than suicide intent. This study found 27.1% of the prevalence of suicide ideas between young adults, compared to a 3.1% suicide.
Such results suggest that many emerging adults trying to commit suicide do not want to end their lives, but hope to end their discomfort. Thus, empowering hope and promoting positive treatment skills between this group can save lives.
Suicide includes known dangers and protective agents
In 2024, the disease control center published a report on the Risk and protective agents for suicide. Knowing these risk factors can encourage individuals to be more cautious about suicide. For example, the CDC report shows that the loss of a relationship is an important risk factor for suicide. Thus, it is important not to minimize the discomfort that young adults feel after a social rejection or romantic dismantling.
Suicide Prevention Attempts are working
The interventions designed to reduce suicides are generally effective. For example, a 2025 exhibition in Journal of Suicide and life -threatening behavior I found this 88.1% of callers for suicide and lifeline’s 988 suicide and crisis describe their call as stopping them from killing themselves. Other interventions include Gatekeeper training, limiting lethal media access, and help search campaigns.
The highlight of suicide as a preventive cause of death has not accused after a comprehensive suicide. A tragic aspect of suicide is that there are often unanswered questions about why death happened. Despite these unanswered questions, there are ways to improve raising awareness in all communities, while instilling hope for those who are struggling.
