Suicide is a serious issue, so please read through this. If you ever need someone to talk to please call:
1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)OR
1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8253)
Suicide was the seventh leading cause of death for males and the fifteenth leading cause of death for females in 2007.
Almost four times as many males as females die by suicide.
Firearms, suffocation, and poison are by far the most common methods of suicide, overall.
However, men and women differ in the method used, as shown below:
Suicide by: Males (%) Females (%)
Firearms: 56 30
Suffocation: 24 21
Poisoning: 13 40
In 2007, suicide was the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24.1 Of every 100,000 young people in each age group, the following number died by suicide:
Children ages 10 to 14 — 0.9 per 100,000
Adolescents ages 15 to 19 — 6.9 per 100,000
Young adults ages 20 to 24 — 12.7 per 100,000
As in the general population, young people were much more likely to use firearms, suffocation, and poisoning than other methods of suicide, overall. However, while adolescents and young adults were more likely to use firearms than suffocation, children were dramatically more likely to use suffocation.
There were also gender differences in suicide among young people, as follows:
-Nearly five times as many males as females ages 15 to 19 died by suicide.
-Just under six times as many males as females ages 20 to 24 died by suicide.
Older Americans are disproportionately likely to die by suicide.
-Of every 100,000 people ages 65 and older, 14.3 died by suicide in 2007. This figure is higher than the national average of 11.3 suicides per 100,000 people in the general population.
-Non-Hispanic white men age 85 or older had an even higher rate, with 47 suicide deaths per 100,000.
Of every 100,000 people in each of the following ethnic/racial groups below, the following number died by suicide in 2007.
Highest rates:
-American Indian and Alaska Natives — 14.3 per 100,000
-Non-Hispanic Whites — 13.5 per 100,000
Lowest rates:
-Hispanics — 6.0 per 100,000
-Non-Hispanic Blacks — 5.1 per 100,000
-Asian and Pacific Islanders — 6.2 per 100,000
Fact number one: Many articles discuss the link between suicide and winter months. Studies have shown that most suicides actually occur during the spring. There are actually fewer suicides committed in the winter months.
Fact number two: In the United States, there are more instances of suicide in the western states than in eastern states.
Fact number three: Suicide is ranked number 8 in the leading cause of death of American males.
Fact number four: When a male attempts suicide, they are at least four times as likely to succeed as females.
Fact number five: The highest number of suicides committed are by whites, followed closely by American Indian and Native Alaskan men.
Fact number six: Around 60% of men who commit suicide use a firearm.
Fact number seven: Women attempt suicide as much as three times more often than men.
Fact number eight: Suicide is the third leading cause of death in adolescents ages 15 through 24.
Fact number nine: From six to ten thousand elderly people commit suicide each year. Most use a firearm.
Fact Number ten: Nearly six people out of every 100,000 will attempt suicide with a firearm.
Fact number eleven: Florida has the highest number of suicide death over all, followed closely by Texas.
Fact number twelve: Rhode Island and North Dakota have the lowest number of suicide deaths.
Fact number thirteen: Hanging accounts for about 1/5 of all suicides.
Fact number fourteen: Suicide is ranked number 11 in the leading cause of death of Americans.
Fact number fifteen: There are nearly one million suicide attempts in the United States each year.
Fact number sixteen: A suicide occurs approximately every 17 minutes in the United States.
Fact number seventeen: Black females have the lowest suicide rate among any other group
Breakdown by Gender / Ethnicity / Young, Old Age Groups
Rate Per
Number Per Day 100,000 % of Deaths
Total ...30,622...83.9...10.8...1.3
Males ...24,672...67.6...17.6...2.1
Females...5,950...16.3...4.1...0.5
Whites...27,710...75.9...11.9...1.3
Nonwhites...2,912...8.0...5.6...0.9
Blacks...1,957...5.4...5.3...0.7
Elderly (65+ yrs.) .5,393...14.8...15.3...0.3
Young (15-24 yrs.)..3,971...10.9...9.9...12.3
Breakdown by Age Groups
(Rates Per 100,000)
Age: 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
5-14 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.8 0.7
15-24 13.2 13.1 13.0 13.5 13.8 13.3 12.0 11.4 11.1 10.3 10.4 9.9
25-34 15.2 15.2 14.5 15.1 15.4 15.4 14.5 14.3 13.8 13.5 12.8 12.8
35-44 15.3 14.7 15.1 15.1 15.3 15.2 15.5 15.3 15.4 14.4 14.6 14.7
45-54 14.8 15.5 14.7 14.5 14.4 14.6 14.9 14.7 14.8 14.2 14.6 15.2
55-64 16.0 15.4 14.8 14.6 13.4 13.3 13.7 13.5 13.1 12.4 12.3 13.1
65-74 17.9 16.9 16.5 16.3 15.3 15.8 15.0 14.4 14.1 13.6 12.6 13.3
75-84 24.9 23.5 22.8 22.3 21.3 20.7 20.0 19.3 19.7 18.3 17.7 17.4
85+ 22.2 24.0 21.9 22.8 23.0 21.6 20.2 20.8 21.0 19.2 19.4 17.5
65+ 20.5 19.7 19.1 19.0 18.1 18.1 17.3 16.8 16.9 15.9 15.3 15.3
Total 12.4 12.2 12.0 12.1 12.0 11.9 11.6 11.4 11.3 10.7 10.7 10.8
My own personal experiences:
My sixth grade year:
My friend Steven (He was in eighth grade) was being teased all through middle school on the bus. our moms were best friends. We were the closest of friends, he got picked on one to many times on the bus on a Friday. He went home and killed himself, the worst part was that my mom knew. I had to find out in school, the first Monday of sixth grade over the P.A.that my friend shot himself because they were picking on him.
My freshman year:
A friend of a friend hung himself in his shower, at 4:30 in the morning, because people were calling him fake on his myspace, because he was using another persons picture.
Just last weekend:
A friends uncle killed himself, for an unknown reason still. He also hung himself, leaving his three sons and wife to fend for them selves.
Suicide effects everyone, it isn't the right way out. It might seem like an easy way out, but think of everyone you could hurt. Talking ot someone is, however the right way to fix things.
I know I couldn't force you to read it, but I sincerely hope you did.
I will post the next chapter to Hearse Boy and Church Girl (The Gothic and The Gifted) later on, I hope to get some feed back about this.
Also I am thinking about creating a second chapter and third chapter (Two different endings.)
Check out: I'm Sorry (Goodbye) by ...And Then I Turned Seven
Its a great song and has some good information, also.
A lot of that information came from www. suicude .com
And feel free to share any stories you might have in a review or private message.