Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention – Program Recap

Published September 30, 2026

*This post discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal ideations, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting 988*

Well over 1 million people in the United States attempt suicide each year and while most do not result in death, the contributors are many.

Thank you to Christie Schweighardt from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for discussing the very sensitive topics of suicide and suicide prevention. September is National Suicide Awareness Month and while majority of those who attempt suicide do not succeed, rates of suicide, particularly among youth and minority populations, are increasing. Suicide is the result of a multitude of factors that converge and there is no easy way to stop it. However, by being present, listening, and securing appropriate help when needed, we can make a difference in both the lives of others as well as ourselves. So let’s work to demystify and destigmatize suicide through a look at suicide, its impact, and what we can do to help those in crisis.

Suicide Scope and Rates

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States with about 50,000 individuals who died by suicide each year. Millions of people each year think about suicide and over a million people in the United State survive a suicide attempt each year. For a vast majority of those contemplating, attempting, or dying by suicide, there is not one single factor that causes such a severe crisis where suicide becomes thought of, if not preferable. In fact, thoughts of suicide are complex and often result from a variety of underlying conditions and experiences, often unique to each individual’s life.

Suicide rates differ based on a variety of factors, including age, gender, geography, ethnicity, race and occupation. Some important facts about rates including:

• Males have 3.5 times higher rates of suicide than females
• Middle and older adults have higher rates of suicides than younger people
• Veterans have higher rates of suicide than noveterans
• Rates are 3 times higher in homes where there is a firearm
• Indigenous youth and young adults die by suicide at higher rates than any other racial or ethnic group

A person in crisis is experiencing pain, unbearable physical or emotional pain that they feel is unescapable. This can lead to cognitive restrictions that lead to tunnel vision on suicide as the only means to solve the crisis. However, in most cases, thoughts of suicide are often temporary and time and distance can actually help dramatically by trying to remove that person from the overbearing weight of the crisis.

Risk Factors and Contributors

There are a wide variety of factors that can influence someone to consider suicide that include biological, psychological, social, and emotional. In most cases, a person experiences many different underlying factors that play off each other to create a penultimate crisis where suicide becomes an option, even the only option, to solve that crisis. Some of these contributors include:

• Previous suicidal behavior
• Mental health conditions – depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis, personality disorders, eating disorders, substance use. In fact, 90% of people who died by suicide had a mental health condition at the time of their death.
• Physical health conditions, such as chronic pain
• Family history of mental illness or suicide loss
• Childhood trauma, abuse, neglect
• Traumatic brain injury
• Genetics
• Ongoing social factors – rejection, victimization, race or gender related discrimination, prejudice, systemic racism and historical trauma

Specific populations also have specific risk factors that increase their rates of suicide, including older adults, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and veterans:

Ways to Help

By creating time and distance for someone experiencing a crisis event, we can have a tremendous impact that can reduce the immediate threat of suicide. There are four major steps that we can take to help anyone who may be contemplating suicide or may be on a path where that option could be considered.

Watch for Warning Signs

There are 3 main areas that we should pay attention to when we know or suspect someone might be experiencing a crisis in their lives that can lead to suicidal ideation:

• Talk – does the person talk about ending lives, expressing no reason to live, feeling hopeless or a burden to others, feeling trapped or being in unbearable pain?
• Behavior – does the person start or increase drug or alcohol use, have issues sleeping, act recklessly, withdrawal from activities or become more isolated, miss school/work or have declining performance, give away possession, or look for ways to kill themselves (searching, buying weapons, seeking medications)?
• Mood – is the person experiencing depression, apathy, rage, irritability, impulsivity, humiliation, anxiety, sudden and unexplained happiness?

Reach Out for a Conversation

A simple conversation with someone experiencing a crisis can have a tremendous impact on lessening the importance of suicide in solving that crisis. If someone is in crisis, don’t assume that someone else will take care of it; trust your instincts. Those conversations can be awkward and you should embrace it, especially since the other person will be experiencing that same awkwardness. Avoid minimizing their feelings or engaging in debates about life being worth living for; they are currently in crisis mode and their intellectual faculties are already not functioning correctly so these tactics can actually make the crisis worse. Additionally, avoid giving advice for trying to fix the crisis and instead, listen with empathy and try to connect that individual with the proper resources to help with their specific crisis or underlying conditions contributing to the crisis. This a great opportunity to listen for those warning signs and even directly ask about suicide.

Keep Environment Safe

The most important thing you can put between a person thinking about suicide and their way of ending their life is time; time allows the crisis to escalate and the increased the opportunity for help. In many instances, a great way to extend that time is to keep their environment safe by limiting access to lethal means, any method that can be fatal if one uses it to attempt suicide. These can include guns, other weapons, medications, or drugs or other toxic substances. Try securing medications, toxic substances and weapons by locking them away, changing those locks, or removing them entirely from the person’s possession. For firearms in particular, make sure they are unloaded, locked, and disassembled; if possible store ammunition separately with separate locks. In fact, half of suicides involve firearms and most firearm deaths in the United States are suicides. Additionally, you can ask what a person might need to feel safer, encourage them to refrain from substance use, or encourage them to discuss keeping the environment safe with a mental health professional.

Connect to Help and Resources

If someone has disclosed a plan to commit suicide or are in the middle of a crisis and not safe, take immediate action:

• Call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
• Text TALK to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line
• For LGBTQ+ youth, call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 6786786 – Trevor Project
• For trans individuals, call 1-877-565-8860 – Trans Lifeline
• 911 for medical emergencies, including suicide attempts in progress
• Emergency Department to get services

Since mental illness is involved in 90% of those who engage in suicide, getting those individuals in contact with professional care is very important. Help them find a mental health or medical provider that can help with their specific conditions, including getting an evaluation. Discuss treatment options and intervention options with them and help them to continue to receive treatment or regularly follow-up.

More Information

If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or dial 911. For more information, please visit the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention at https://afsp.org/. You can view a recording of the program on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/B1M7m7lMV3A.

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