Parents Guide: Suicide
Don’t be afraid to ask.
•Remain calm.
• Remember that talking about suicide does not put the idea in someone’s head. Directly asking about a desire to die is important to understand whether your child is struggling with thoughts of suicide.
Talking about suicide helps take away the stigma and embarrassment.
•Open your conversation with the signs that are concerning to you.
• Consider asking, “Are you thinking about hurting yourself?” or “Are you wanting to die?” Some Basics for Parents Suicide impacts almost everyone directly or indirectly. Hearing about it from a trusted source, like a parent or caregiver, will assist your child with the right information and they can speak to others about it accurately - Kristin Francis, MD Huntsman Mental Institute, UT “ What to say if a child says they are suicidal.
• When a child shares that they are in crisis, try to react calmly and be accepting. • Do not minimize their feelings or tell them they shouldn’t feel that way.
• Acknowledge that their feelings are valid and ask more questions. You can say, “Tell me more. What is it that you’re having a hard time with?” Really listen to what they are saying.
• Let them know that there are solutions to what they are grappling with. Ask them what they need and support them in getting that help.
• Be sure to ask, “Have you been thinking about how you might kill yourself?” This is important to help identify if they have plans for how they would end their life and what those plans are. When someone has a plan—whether full or partial—to attempt suicide, it signifies a more immediate crisis, and they should be taken to the ER immediately.
• If they are not comfortable sharing with you, ask if there is someone else whom they would rather talk to, like another relative, a teacher, or a school counselor.
Facts About Suicide
Suicide is a leading cause of death.
Suicide is death caused by injuring oneself with the intent to die. A suicide attempt is when someone harms themselves with any intent to end their life, but they do not die as a result of their actions.1
Many factors can increase the risk for suicide or protect against it. Suicide is connected to other forms of injury and violence. For example, people who have experienced violence, including child abuse, bullying, or sexual violence have a higher suicide risk. Being connected to family and community support and having easy access to healthcare can decrease suicidal thoughts and behaviors.2
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Suicide is a serious public health problem.
Suicide rates increased approximately 36% between 2000–2021. Suicide was responsible for 48,183 deaths in 2021, which is about one death every 11 minutes.3 The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2021, an estimated 12.3 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.7 million attempted suicide.4
Suicide affects people of all ages. In 2021, suicide was among the top 9 leading causes of death for people ages 10-64. Suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 20-34.3
Some groups have higher suicide rates than others. Suicide rates vary by race/ethnicity, age, and other factors, such as where someone lives. By race/ethnicity, the groups with the highest rates are non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native people followed by non-Hispanic White people.3 Other Americans with higher-than-average rates of suicide are veterans, people who live in rural areas, and workers in certain industries and occupations like mining and construction.5,6 Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual have higher prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behavior compared to their peers who identify as heterosexual.7 Read more about these suicide disparities and why they exist on this page.
Suicide has far-reaching impact.
Suicide and suicide attempts cause serious emotional, physical, and economic impacts. People who attempt suicide and survive may experience serious injuries that can have long-term effects on their health. They may also experience depression and other mental health concerns.8
Suicide and suicide attempts affect the health and well-being of friends, loved ones, co-workers, and the community. When people die by suicide, their surviving family and friends may experience prolonged grief, shock, anger, guilt, symptoms of depression or anxiety, and even thoughts of suicide themselves.8,9
The financial toll of suicide on society is also costly. In 2020, suicide and nonfatal self-harm cost the nation over $500 billion in medical costs, work loss costs, value of statistical life, and quality of life costs.
Suicidal behavior also has far-reaching impact:
There were 46,412 suicides among adults in 2021. But suicides are just the tip of the iceberg. For every suicide death*, there were about:
3 hospitalizations for self-harm**
8 emergency department visits related to suicide***
38 self-reported suicide attempts in the past year****
265 people who seriously considered suicide in the past year****
*Based on the latest year of available data for adults ages 18 and older.
**Source: HCUP National Inpatient Sample (2020)
***Source: CDC WISQARS (2020)
****Source: SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2021)
Suicide Prevention Resource for Action
Suicide is preventable and everyone has a role to play to save lives and create healthy and strong individuals, families, and communities. Suicide prevention requires a comprehensive public health approach. CDC developed the Suicide Prevention Resource for Action (Prevention Resource), which provides information on the best available evidence for suicide prevention. States and communities can use the Prevention Resource to help make decisions about suicide prevention activities. Strategies range from those designed to support people at increased risk to a focus on the whole population, regardless of risk.
Strengthen economic supports
Improve household financial security
Stabilize housing
Create protective environments
Reduce access to lethal means among persons at risk of suicide
Create healthy organizational policies and culture
Reduce substance use through community-based policies and practices
Improve access and delivery of suicide care
Cover mental health conditions in health insurance policies
Increase provider availability in underserved areas
Provide rapid and remote access to help
Create safer suicide care through systems change
Promote healthy connections
Promote healthy peer norms
Engage community members in shared activities
Teach coping and problem-solving skills
Support social-emotional learning programs
Teach parenting skills to improve family relationships
Support resilience through education programs
Identify and support people at risk
Train gatekeepers
Respond to crises
Plan for safety and follow-up after an attempt
Provide therapeutic approaches
Lessen harms and prevent future risk
Intervene after a suicide (postvention)
Report and message about suicide safely
Need help? Know someone who does?
Contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline if you are experiencing mental health-related distress or are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.
Call or text 988
Chat at 988lifeline.org
Connect with a trained crisis counselor. 988 is confidential, free, and available 24/7/365.
Visit the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for more information at 988lifeline.org.
Help for Someone You Know
Help For You
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
We can all help prevent suicide. The 988 Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States.