Attempted Suicide

The brother of one of my friends tried to commit suicide last week. This is the second time that he has attempted it in the past couple of years.

Right now, I don’t know all of the details, but the previous time, he took a bunch of pills and parked his car in a Target parking lot in the middle of the night. Thank goodness someone found him before they fully kicked in. It sounds like the same thing happened this time.

Since his previous attempt, he enrolled in cooking school and seemed to be doing so well. Of course, the last time that I saw him was at Halloween.

I have never known anyone else that has tried to commit suicide.

I feel so helpless. I don’t know what to do to help the family.
Is there anything that can be done?



What Are The Warning Signs For Suicide?
Seek help as soon as possible by contacting a mental health professional or by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK if you or someone you know exhibits any of the following signs:
• Threatening to hurt or kill oneself or talking about wanting to hurt or kill oneself
• Looking for ways to kill oneself by seeking access to firearms, available pills, or other means
• Talking or writing about death, dying, or suicide when these actions are out of the ordinary for the person
• Feeling hopeless
• Feeling rage or uncontrolled anger or seeking revenge
• Acting reckless or engaging in risky activities - seemingly without thinking
• Feeling trapped - like there's no way out
• Increasing alcohol or drug use
• Withdrawing from friends, family, and society
• Feeling anxious, agitated, or unable to sleep or sleeping all the time
• Experiencing dramatic mood changes
• Seeing no reason for living or having no sense of purpose in life
It should be noted that some people who die by suicide do not show any suicide warning signs.

But about 75 percent of those who die by suicide do exhibit some suicide warning signs, so we need to be aware of what the suicide warning signs are and try to spot them in people. If we do see someone exhibiting suicide warning signs, we need to do everything that we can to help them.