Checklist for Suicide Symptoms, Suicidal Potential/Severity list

Here is a list of symptoms of potential suicide that may help determine if someone is suicidal enough to seek professional intervention. They are in no special order and are not of equal weight, but the more of these symptoms the individual exhibits the more likely it is that he/she is suicidal:

1. Means. Has a suitable suicidal tool available? This factor carries double weight if the person frequently mentions that he/she has the means.

2. Previous Attempt. Recent studies corroborate that approximately 75 percent of accomplished suicides have made a previous attempt.

3. Family History. Statistically persons who have had a suicide in the family (especially one or both parents) are more likely to commit or attempt suicide than those who have not.

4. Lack of Roots. Very few persons commit suicide in the town or region of their birth. The farther away from home, family connections, and close friends a person gets, the more likely suicide becomes.

5. Withdrawal. The potential suicide often systematically eliminates social contacts. He/she drops out of his club, his church, his job, and avoids old friends. Then he can reasonably say, “I’m not needed. SI

6. Confusion. The potential suicide has a marked inability to separate and evaluate problems. He may say in the same breath, “My wife has left me and I’m two payments past due on the TV set.” He cannot deal effectively with many of his problems because he cannot clear his mind of others.

7. A Vague Illness. He will often complain about indefinite physical illness, “an ache all over feeling,” or chemical psychosomatic signs are important because they reflect a high degree of disorganization.

8. Urge to Kill. The potential suicide may be seeking revenge, thinking, “You may be sorry when I’m gone.” This is a dangerous attitude because it may give birth to homicide.

9. Fear of the Future. Although it sounds incongruous, many persons commit suicide because they fear death. “I know it’s cowardly to think of suicide,” they say, but actually, they are thinking that if they can accomplish suicide, they won’t have to fear the things that really worry them.

10. Financial Reverse. Here it is apparently the loss of status as much as the loss of money that is significant.

11. Rationalization. Occasionally the potential suicide will attempt an aggressive defense of suicide. This is especially true in the cases where the subject is following the footsteps of a relative.

12. Negative Protest. This is a tricky factor. If a person tells you in an overemphatic manner, that he is not contemplating suicide, be careful.

13. A Feeling of Failure. Despite any past successes, the potential suicide will harp on his failures, even small ones. He will say he is inefficient, forgetful, and makes mistakes that others notice.

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Sample Questions for Evaluating Suicidal Potential/Severity

1. Have you ever felt depressed for several days at a time?
2. During this time, have you ever had thoughts of killing yourself?
3. When did these thoughts occur?
4. What did you think about doing to yourself?
5. Did you act on your thoughts?
6. How often have these thoughts occurred?
7. When is the last time you had these thoughts?
8. Have your thoughts ever included harming someone else in addition to
yourself?
9. How often has that occurred?
10. What have you thought about doing to the other person?
11. What would the outcome or benefit be of this act toward this other person?
12. When does this thought occur?
13. Recently, what specifically have you thought about doing to yourself?
14. Have you taken any steps towards acquiring the “gun, pills,” etc?
15. Have you thought about when you would this’
16. Have you thought about where you would do this?
17. Have you thought about what effect your death would have on your family?
18. Have you thought about what effect your death would have on your friends?
and others?
19. You sound ambivalent or unsure about these plans. What are some of the
reasons that have kept you from acting on them thus far?
20. More specifically, what are your feelings about religion, suicide, and
God?
21. What are your thoughts about your responsibilities for your family and
children if you kill yourself’
22. What are your thoughts about other reasons for living and staying alive?
22. What help could make it easier for you to cope with your current thoughts
and plans?
23. Have you made any plans for your possessions or to communicate with people
after your death such as a note or a will?
25. How does talking about this make you feel?

Dr. Dave

Hi Dr. Dave

Thank you so much for this forum. This is Vash from LambsRoar and you have read my posts over there and are a little familiar with my history, with that being said my father has been mentally ill (dx'd since the early 60's with quite a few different depressions ie: chronic depression, bi-polar, etc,... Several in my family are dx'd and on medication for bi-polar disorder and chronic depression but most are bi-polar. In 1996 I was the one (after my dad) that really got the ball rolling as far as taking the step and aggressivly getting a diagnosis of bi-polar disorder. I really didn't have a choice if I wanted any kind of a productive life.

With all that being said......My dad used to talk about suicide over and over and over again. How much impact does that have in a childs mind/life and how would it affect her growing up? It seems when the going get rough I want to give in and check out, not die, just *poof* disappear. Do you think it has anything to do with my dad? My history was allot of self medicating with taking too many pills, not enough to kill me but certainly enough to knock me out and keep me out of reality and want to sleep for a few days. I DON"T do that anymore. I have come along way since then. I have been through a recent bout with the down swing of bi-polar and have had to go back on an anti-D and I think I will be feeling better very soon. I am very curious to that question about my dad and if there is some kind of connection there, if I was "trained" if you will, into that type of process-thinking.
Thank you Dr. Dave.
Vash

Hi, Vash! Thanks for checking out my little discussion board...I appreciate you stopping by.

Well, first, you ask whether your dad talking about suicide can affect you. Of course...there's no debating that. How would it affect you? That's much harder to tease out. Many times, children learn their "coping skills" from their parent's example. So, at least from my point of view, I can see you learning how to cope from your parent's example, along with some biological causes for getting "down" and feeling sad. I tend to think that both factors are pretty reasonable.

Many people want to "escape" from life's difficulties...that feeling is pretty common. But, emotionally healthy people, in my experience, assess their situation & choose their battles carefully. The reality is that you can't fight everything all of the time. I see your reluctance to engage in life's difficulties/problems/obstacles more related to a personal style or comfort level. The only way you get more comfortable dealing with life's problems is to get out there and deal with them...is it uncomfortable and awkward? You bet! But, the more you deal with them, the better you get at dealing with them! In sum, the old saying, "practice makes perfect" seems to be very fitting.

Hope that helps and that I addressed some of your questions. If I didn't answer them satisfactorily, please drop me a PM and let me know, okay?

Dr. Dave