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Death By Suicide

Suicide as always held a stigma for those who have successfully and unsuccessfully performed acts of suicide and for those family members they left behind. What drives individuals to choose to die by way of suicide?

One currently popular term by those who are currently "middle aged" in the year 2007 is s"elf deliverance". This term refers to middle agers who take their own life in order to escape the pain and suffering those results from chronic medical conditions. They usually do so in order to avoid being a burden to their families or to stop the rapid depletion of financial resources associated with their medical care. It is a choice made out of misery to end misery for themselves and for their loved ones.

Whether you believe in suicide or not is irrelevant in respect to the purpose of this article. Exploring why someone would chose to investigate or carryout this alternative is the point of this article.

The most common reasons cited for those who are middle aged or older for choosing suicide over life are: life is not worth living, financial stress or ruin, mental health issues, and also chronic illness or terminal illness. Individuals in their youth have some different reasons for choosing suicide including major disappointment or rejection, feeling like they are an utter failure, relationship breakup, family turmoil, and failing a major test.

Reasons for suicide no matter the age of the individual are not the cause of suicide. The cause is what leads to the reason being formed in the mind of the individual making the choice. In the case of youth (kids and teens alike), causes tend to center around family life, friendships, and school. Loss of security, important relationships and finances are more difficult for youth to handle than it is for adults who can more easily understand concepts. An overwhelming percent of youth who successfully die from suicide are those who had some sort of mental or substance-related disorder it is imperative that prevention measures focus on successful treatment for these individuals that include learning new coping skills. The cause for middle aged and elderly suicide often are either due to mental instabilities, financial upheaval either long-term or short-term or substance abuse.

Scientists have focused recently on the "biology of suicide" rather than on the reasons. There is some evidence that there is a genetic component to the occurrence of suicidal thoughts and actions. There is also strong evidence that mental and substance-related disorders, affect those individuals who actually take action towards suicide. Statistics show that having a close relative like a parent successfully dies by suicide increases the risk that the son or daughter will also explore the possibilities one day especially if that youth has mental or substance abuse disorders.

Brain chemistry research indicate that those who have attempted suicide may have lower levels of the brain chemical serotonin that is thought to control behavior that is more of an "impulsive" type of behavior. A large percentage of suicides are impulsive acts. Antidepressant drugs that are used to treat individuals suffering from depression have an affect on the level of serotonin in the body. Much more needs to be done regarding studies regarding this topic to prove these hypotheses regarding brain chemicals, impulses and the connection between them and suicidal tendencies. Conclusive research is critical to determining better indicators of who is at risk, and how to treat those who are prone to suicide.