People who feel suicidal often express a sense of hopelessness; they see suicide as the only way to solve their problems and eliminate their suffering. Sometimes, drug and alcohol use can lead to mental health issues, while in other people, the use of drugs and alcohol helps them to cope with symptoms of existing mental illness.
Although suicide is difficult to predict, many people will give warning signs of their suicidal intentions in the weeks or months prior.
These warning signs can include both behavioural and verbal indications, such as:
- Being withdrawn and unable to relate to friends and co-workers;
- Talking about feeling isolated and lonely;
- Expressing feelings of failure, uselessness, lack of hope, or loss of self-esteem;
- Constantly dwelling on problems for which there seem to be no solutions;
- Expressing a lack of support or belief in the system;
- Speaking about tidying up affairs;
- Giving some other indication of a suicide plan.
