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Articles by John Bateson
The Proper Way to Report on Suicide
Too often, reporters cover suicide the same way they cover a crime. Suicide should be covered as a public health issue with rates, treatment options, and resources. Everyone should know and follow media guidelines of the American Association of Suicidology. In this age of social media, few things remain secret for long. Moreover, humans have a predilection for gossip that often results in misleading and factually incorrect information being disseminated rapidly, widely, and indiscriminately.
The Proper Way to Report on Suicide
Suicide Risk Factors and Signs Take our Depression Test Find a therapist near me Too often, reporters cover suicide the same way they cover a crime. Suicide should be covered as a public health issue with rates, treatment options, and resources. Everyone should know and follow media guidelines of the American Association of Suicidology. In this age of social media, few things remain secret for long.
What Schools Can Do to Prevent Suicides
When 22-year-old Katie Meyer killed herself in her dorm room at Stanford University in 2021, it sent shockwaves across the San Francisco Bay Area and the country. One reason was that Meyer was the women's soccer team’s star goalkeeper who had helped Stanford win the national championship two years earlier. The other reason was that she was the fourth Stanford student to die by suicide in just over a year.
What Schools Can Do to Prevent Suicides
Suicide Risk Factors and Signs Take our Depression Test Find a therapist near me Assessing need and having clear polices enable staff to act quickly and effectively in a mental health crisis. The counseling center should be housed in a central area with other student services. Referrals to off-campus resources for long-term support is important.
Once a Suicidal Crisis Passes, the Danger Isn’t Over
For men, the risk of suicide after discharge following an attempt is 102 times greater. For women the risk is 256 times greater. Elevated mood swings and more upbeat behavior can mean an attempt is imminent. Often it’s assumed that after a person has been hospitalized for a suicide attempt, then released, the danger has diminished. In fact, the opposite is true.
Once a Suicidal Crisis Passes, the Danger Isn’t Over
Suicide Risk Factors and Signs Take our Depression Test Find a therapist near me For men, the risk of suicide after discharge following an attempt is 102 times greater. For women the risk is 256 times greater. Elevated mood swings and more upbeat behavior can mean an attempt is imminent. Often it’s assumed that after a person has been hospitalized for a suicide attempt, then released, the danger has diminished. In fact, the opposite is true.
Grieving After a Suicide
Suicide Risk Factors and Signs Take our Depression Test Find a therapist near me Following a suicide, it’s natural for loved ones to question previous words and actions. Beating yourself up accomplishes nothing, however. The only thing that really helps is talking with someone who’s been there. During my college years, I worked summers at a family camp in the Sierras for alumni of the University of California.
Grieving After a Suicide
During my college years, I worked summers at a family camp in the Sierras for alumni of the University of California. A month into my first summer, I was running on a mountain road, stepped on a sharp rock, and broke a small bone in my foot. It was the first and only time I’ve broken a bone, and I was miserable. I was sent home to recuperate, and couldn't wait to heal and return. A soft-spoken man, who I’ll call Simon, was hired to fill in for me temporarily.
Serving LGBTQ Youth in Crisis
Gay and lesbian youths are four times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youths. The high rate of suicide isn’t because of sexual orientation but because of negative reaction to it. Restoring option 3 to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline isn’t a solution, but it’s a start.
Serving LGBTQ Youth in Crisis
Suicide Risk Factors and Signs Take our Depression Test Find a therapist near me Gay and lesbian youths are four times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youths. The high rate of suicide isn’t because of sexual orientation but because of negative reaction to it. Restoring option 3 to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline isn’t a solution, but it’s a start.
Suicides Among Immigration Detainees
At least 10 immigration detainees have killed themselves since January 2025. The suicide rate of detainees is higher than the national average, but not significantly higher. There are two ways to measure suicide: by the total number of deaths and by the number of deaths per 100,000 people. The latter considers changes in population size, enabling comparisons between years, regional areas, and various demographic groups.
Suicides Among Immigration Detainees - John Bateson
Suicide Risk Factors and Signs Take our Depression Test Find a therapist near me At least 10 immigration detainees have killed themselves since January 2025. The suicide rate of detainees is higher than the national average, but not significantly higher. There are two ways to measure suicide: by the total number of deaths and by the number of deaths per 100,000 people.
The Creation of 988
With phone counseling, clients have greater control. The physical separation and anonymity make some clients more willing to open up. Counseling is more accessible because it's free, available 24-7, and clients can talk from home. At one time, the prevailing opinion among many mental health professionals was that suicide hotlines wouldn’t be effective.
The Creation of 988
Suicide Risk Factors and Signs Take our Depression Test Find a therapist near me With phone counseling, clients have greater control. The physical separation and anonymity make some clients more willing to open up. Counseling is more accessible because it's free, available 24-7, and clients can talk from home. At one time, the prevailing opinion among many mental health professionals was that suicide hotlines wouldn’t be effective.
Reducing Drug Overdoses that Lead to Suicide
People dependent on drugs or alcohol are five times more likely to attempt suicide. Substance abuse increases the risk of suicide for women six-and-a-half times. Blister tabs and limiting pack sizes are effective ways prevent some overdoses. While more people in America kill themselves with a firearm than by any other means, the majority of people who attempt suicide do it by overdosing.
Reducing Drug Overdoses that Lead to Suicide
Suicide Risk Factors and Signs Take our Depression Test Find a therapist near me People dependent on drugs or alcohol are five times more likely to attempt suicide. Substance abuse increases the risk of suicide for women six-and-a-half times. Blister tabs and limiting pack sizes are effective ways prevent some overdoses. While more people in America kill themselves with a firearm than by any other means, the majority of people who attempt suicide do it by overdosing.
Suicide Risk Factors and Warning Signs
While suicidal behavior is complex, thoughts of suicide often result from problems that seem unfixable. Gambling losses, legal issues, relationship problems, academic failures, mental disorders, unemployment, substance abuse, grief, and feelings of being a burden to loved ones can contribute to insurmountable feelings of despair—but not for everyone. Some people are able to manage these challenges while others can’t, and that is more difficult to explain.
Reducing Firearm Suicides Starts With Gun Reform, Not Gun Control
Most gun owners want guns to be used responsibly. Most Republicans support universal background checks. The key question should be, “How do we solve the problem of gun suicides?” Advocates of common-sense gun laws often cite the number of firearm deaths in the United States—nearly 50,000 per year—as a reason for tougher restrictions on the sale and distribution of guns.
Blueprint for Getting a Suicide Barrier at a Jump Site
For years, I have been on the board of Bridge Rail Foundation, an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization in the San Francisco Bay Area that has been the primary advocate for a suicide barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge. Now that a barrier is in place—a rigid, stainless-steel net—and proving its effectiveness, other communities with popular jump sites are seeking advice and support to make their local bridge, tall building, overpass, cliff, train crossing, or other site safe from suicide.
The Werther Effect Is Real
The history of suicide is replete with instances of copycat behavior, sometimes referred to as the Werther Effect. The name comes from The Sorrows of Young Werther, a 1774 novel by Goethe. In it, the title character, a popular young man who dresses in the style of the day, is angst-ridden because his love for a married woman is unrequited. Despondent, he kills himself.
Why Did Flight MH370 Disappear?
Shortly after midnight on March 8, 2014, a Boeing 777 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members left Kuala Lumpur Airport in Malaysia on what was supposed to be a routine, five-and-a-half-hour flight to Beijing. An hour later, it dropped off air traffic control screens and was never sighted again. In the following days, dozens of planes and ships from multiple countries searched hundreds of miles for MH370, but found nothing.
Finding Help Following Suicide or an Attempt
Many crisis centers that operate 24-hour suicide prevention hotlines also provide grief counseling to people who are mourning a death. That’s because many people who have lost a loved one to suicide are more at risk for suicide themselves. The crisis center I directed provided individual counseling and also operated multiple grief support groups.
Physical Barriers at Jump Sites Prevent Suicides
Studies find that 90% of people who survive a suicide attempt don’t go on to kill themselves. In one study, 94% of people who were stopped from jumping off the Golden Gate didn't go on to die by suicide. There were 2,000 suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge before a net was installed. Since the net was installed, suicides have dropped dramatically; there have been none since May 2025.
Reducing Gun Violence, Particularly Gun Suicides
The United States is the only country in the world where guns are the primary means of suicide. In every age group except children 10 to 14, gun suicides outnumber all other forms of suicide.[1] (Among children age 10 to 14, hanging is the most common means.) Elsewhere, political leaders have concluded that there is a direct correlation between the number of firearms in circulation among the citizenry and the number of firearm deaths in the country.
Zero Suicides Is the Goal
In 2001, the Behavioral Health Services division of the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit implemented a program to end suicides among its patients. Not merely reduce the number of suicides, but end them. Prior to that time, Henry Ford had a suicide rate that was seven times higher than the national average. Within four years after implementing the program, however, patient suicides dropped 75 percent.[1] That was good, but not good enough. The goal was perfection—zero suicides.
Innovative Approaches to Preventing Suicides at Jump Sites
History has shown that signage, surveillance equipment, and emergency phones do little to stop people from jumping off a tall bridge or cliff, or in front of a moving train. Some sort of physical barrier is needed to prevent suicides. The most obvious barrier is a tall railing that isn’t easily surmounted. Examples are barriers on the Bloor Street Bridge in Toronto, Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Is There a Link Between Economic Factors and Suicide?
When it comes to suicide, there’s a strong correlation between economic factors, particularly unemployment, and the number of people who kill themselves. Untreated mental illness, an aging population, the proliferation of firearms, substance abuse, and other factors are significant, but none to the same extent. With policy changes, it’s possible to argue that suicides may increase in the next few years.
Trying to Understand the Motivations Behind Mass Shooters
Fewer than 2 percent of all suicides in this country are preceded by murder. The motive behind most mass shootings falls into one of four types: mercy, justice, duty, and glory. Many shooters kill themselves to avoid facing the consequences of their actions. Last week, a 23-year-old man who, according to police, was obsessed with previous mass shooters, opened fire at a school in Minneapolis, killing two children and injuring 18 others.
The Strong Correlation Between CTE and Suicide
After the recent shooting at a Manhattan high rise by a gunman who left writing that stated he suffered from CTE, the connection between concussions, mental illness, and suicide is in the news again. The shooter, a star football player in high school, according to reports, drove from Las Vegas to New York with the intention of harming people in the offices of the National Football League.
A 10-Point Plan to End Suicides
Suicide is more than a mental health problem. It’s a public health problem for society at large, and everyone has a role to play in ending it. It starts with individuals talking openly and honestly about suicide. This means dusting off family skeletons and having frank conversations about the death of a relative or close friend. It also means using appropriate terminology, words that are empathic and foster help-seeking rather than words that are judgmental and contribute to stigma.
A 10-Point Plan to End Suicides - John Bateson
Suicide is more than a mental health problem. It’s a public health problem for society at large, and everyone has a role to play in ending it. When the magnitude of the task is broken down into steps like these, ending suicides no longer seems far-fetched or........
A Variety of Factors Contribute to Youth Suicides
Every suicide is tragic, but suicides among young people are, in many respects, the most tragic of all. They had so much of their life still ahead of them, we think, with all the promise that it held. To see it cut short by their own hand is hard to fathom. If only, we wish, they could have held on a little longer and gotten the help they needed, everything would be different. Youths who attempt suicide are often influenced by factors that are mystic, romantic, or idealistic in nature.
Someone's Suicide Risk May Be Related to Where They Live
The states with the highest rates of suicide are in the West: Nevada, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, and New Mexico. In terms of actual numbers, California has more suicides than any other state—about 4,000 per year, or 12 percent of the national total; however, California is also the most populous state. Its suicide rate is actually the fifth-lowest in the country. The reason Western states have higher suicide rates relative to the rest of the U.S. can be explained in multiple ways.
Memories of Suicide Can Last Forever
I didn't know Mike well. No one did. He was the kind of person you saw once or twice a year, were reminded how intense and intellectually curious he was, told yourself that you should see him more often, but somehow never got around to it. Women fell in love with him on sight. He had jet-black hair and movie-star looks, but that was only half of it. There was a hint of danger in him, of someone who trusted his instincts completely, without thought that they could be wrong.
People Who Are Suicidal Aren't Suicidal All the Time
Individuals who have seriously considered killing themselves and, possibly, attempted it don’t think about suicide every waking moment. The desire to die, to be free of pain and suffering, comes and goes. It may never disappear entirely, but it’s not foremost in a person’s mind all the time, either. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, 90 percent of people who survive a suicide attempt don’t go on to kill themselves.
How Technology Has Influenced Suicide Assessment
With hotlines, clients can talk in the comfort of their homes, so counseling is accessible. Teens can be resistant to talking, but chatty when texting. 988 is the toll-free number to call 24-7 for suicide counseling. At one time, the prevailing opinion among many mental health professionals was that suicide hotlines wouldn’t be effective.
What Individuals Can Do to End Suicides
The assumption that suicides can’t be prevented, much less ended, is an enabling one. It enables the rest of us to be passive, and that is at the heart of the problem. Answers exist, but oftentimes, people aren’t willing to pursue them. Talking Openly and Honestly One thing that is needed is for people to start talking openly and honestly about suicide, to stop hiding it and instead cast a light. For individuals, this means having frank conversations about the death of a relative or close friend.
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