Reblogged on kommonsentsjane/blogkommonsents.

Why Do People Commit Suicide?

No one can explain why some people commit suicide and others do not. One theory is that suicide is an act of rage or anger. Another theory is that people may commit suicide because they feel they have no other choice. Hopelessness and distorted thinking may prevent a person from seeing solutions to their problems.

For a mentally healthy person, the idea that a person would have no choice except to seek death sounds absurd. But depression, substance abuse, and other mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, alter the healthy mind. People with these problems may feel that they are in a deep, dark hole from which there is no escape and that life is so painful that there are no alternatives except death.

Researchers are finding that there may be inherited tendencies for depression, schizophrenia, alcoholism, substance abuse, and certain personality disorders. All of these problems can increase a person’s vulnerability to suicidal thoughts when things go wrong. Some studies suggest that the brain chemistry of people who commit suicide is abnormal. Research is under way to examine the effects of certain medications that alter brain chemistry in a way that could decrease suicidal behavior.

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