QUESTIONNAIRE: TRUE OR FALSE?

1. PEOPLE WHO TALK ABOUT SUICIDE DO NOT ACTUALLY KILL THEMSELVES. False Most people who die by suicide talk with at least one other person about their suicidal feelings or plans before they finally decide to act on them. It is important to take these messages seriously even if the person says she or he did not really mean it.

2. SUICIDE HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING SIGNS False Most people give us clues that they are thinking about taking their lives. The warning signs include things like making direct statements about dying, losing interest, or showing changes in attitudes and behaviors like not taking care of themselves. There are, however, a small percentage of people who dies by suicide without leaving clues.

3. SUICIDE OCCURS EQUALLY AS OFTEN AMONG RICH, MIDDLE CLASS, AND POOR PEOPLE True Suicidal behavior occurs in people of all income levels. Suicidal teens come from all kinds of families. This is why we have to pay serious attention to all suicidal behavior and talk.

4. MALES DIE BY SUICIDE MORE OFTEN THAN FEMALES True Men do die by suicide more than females, but females make more attempts than men do as men tend to choose more lethal means of taking their own lives. Women and men in a suicidal situation are both serious about taking their own lives and it is important to understand that most people will change their minds and want to be rescued.

5. ONCE A PERSON IS SUICIDAL, HE OR SHE IS SUICIDAL FOREVER. False People can be helped, often with the aid of professional counseling from someone like a psychologist or social worker, to see other, less destructive solutions to their problems. If they do get help, the vast majority of people who make suicidal attempts do not go on to kill themselves.

6. IF A PERSON FEELS BETTER AFTER A SUICIDE ATTEMPT, IT MEANS HE OR SHE WILL PROBABLY NOT TRY TO DO IT AGAIN. FALSE Unless there are changes in the person’s life or the person gets help in managing problems with better coping skills, he or she may be at risk for another attempt. It’s important for someone who has attempted suicide or is even thinking about it to get good, professional help.

7. SUICIDAL PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO DIE FALSE Sometimes this is true, but usually suicidal people simply want to escape the terrible way they are feeling, not end their lives. Many people who attempt suicide call on someone to help them immediately after they have made their attempt. People who attempt suicide are emotionally mixed-up at the time and not thinking very calmly and clearly. Later, most are grateful that someone saved them.

8. TALKING ABOUT SUICIDE OR ASKING SOMEONE ABOUT SUICIDE MAY PUT THE IDEA IN THE PERSON’S HEAD AND CAUSE SUICIDE False Actually, the opposite is often true. Asking directly about suicidal ideas or intentions can help people who feel like there’s no one they can talk to about how terrible they are feeling. In fact, talking out feelings can help prevent the person from acting on them. At any time in your life when you were really upset about something. If you were able to share your worries with someone else, my guess is that you probably felt a lot better.

9. PEOPLE WHO THREATEN TO KILL THEMSELVES ARE JUST SEEKING ATTENTION FALSE We must not dismiss a suicide threat or attempt as simply being an attention-getting device. If people are so desperate for attention that the only way they can think of getting it is to threaten to kill themselves, then they really do need attention – attention from someone who can truly help them to not feel this way.