Suicide can be caused by a variety of factors. The reasons that can promote or encourage suicide can be psychological, social factors, and mental illness/disorders. This paper covers these contributing factors.
Mental illnesses such as bipolar disorders can lead to suicide. This sickness affects a person by making the shift from very low mood swings to very high moods with high energy levels. Another mental illness is schizoaffective disorder where one experiences mood problems and psychotic thinking. According to Dombeck and Reiss (2007, para. 3), psychiatric disorders such as sleep disorders, eating disorders, and post-traumatic stress may lead to suicide. These disorders include schizophrenia. A disorder such as schizophrenia can cause one to hear imaginary voices that direct the person to kill herself. These orders can promote suicide by distracting or impairing one’s judgment and perspective.
Suicide has been linked to alcohol and drug abuse. Drugs lower one’s inhibition, impairs judgment, and cause depressed moods making one vulnerable to suicide. Mixing recreational and prescription drugs increase the risk of suicide.
Suicide can be caused by social factors such as emotional insults, public humiliation. When a person experiences this and does not know how to cope this can lead to suicide. After rejecting a person might isolate themselves leading to feelings of suicide. If you compare the suicide rate between men and women, male suicide is higher. This is because men do not open up about their feelings as easily as women. Women seek help but men are more resistant to seek help.
The major loss is a cause of suicide such as loss of honor, finances, and social loss. When one loses their honor of finance they think about how hard life will become without all the benefits they previously enjoyed. They fear losing the respect others had for them. For instance, if the person was a manager they imagine losing the power they once held and wonder what the future has in store. The person also losses their pride and such losses cause anger and aggression. Low self-esteem can cause suicide. The person feels that they cannot accomplish much hence there is no purpose for living. Loss of esteem leads to depression which is linked to suicide.
Certain professions make one susceptible to suicide for instance athletes, prostitutes, and doctors. This is because these people become hardened to suffering. They are used to facing fearful situations so they may just go ahead and commit suicide. Moreover, feelings of pain and danger do not scare them. Doctors also have easy access to drugs which they can use to kill themselves.
Suicide rates are higher in certain environments such as the presence of firearms and suicide reports in the media. People who keep firearms in their homes easily commit suicide because when they get angered over simple things they tend to seek the firearm. This is what they think is the nearest solution. Events like suicide media reports increase suicide rates. For example frequent reports about suicide in the media. This gives a person contemplating suicide to go ahead with the idea.
In conclusion, suicide is a habit that is looked down upon by society. It is a taboo subject and the silence on the issue is not helpful. Judging by the rise in suicides caused by pressures of life pressure and social disintegration then there is an urgent need to tackle this issue. Society should reach out to help one another since when situations get tough anyone can be vulnerable to suicide. Those who get feelings of suicide should seek help as soon as possible and they need to acknowledge that suicide adds to their problems.
Reference List
Dombeck, M., & Reiss, N. (2007). Other factors Contributing to Suicide Risk. Web.