What Is Suicidal Ideation

There are three categories of reasons for suicidal ideation: psychiatric conditions, life experiences, adverse drug effects, and family history.

Psychiatric conditions

Suicidal ideation is a sign of a variety of mental diseases, and it can also result from unfavorable life circumstances in the absence of a mental disorder.

Several psychiatric conditions appear to be co-occurring with suicidal thoughts or significantly increasing the likelihood of suicidal ideation. Many people with borderline personality disorder, for instance, demonstrate recurrent suicidal conduct and suicidal ideation. Seventy-three percent of individuals with borderline personality disorder have tried suicide, with an average of 3.4 attempts per patient, according to one study.

Adverse effects of drugs

Some research suggests a link between the use of antidepressants and suicidal thoughts and tendencies, hence raising the risk of suicidal thoughts in some individuals. Antidepressants are routinely prescribed to patients who have moderate to severe depression to alleviate their symptoms.

Certain drugs, like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), might cause suicidal thoughts as a side effect. In addition, the intended benefits of these medications may have the unintended effect of increasing the individual risk and collective rate of suicide conduct. A subgroup of individuals taking the drug feel awful enough to want to try suicide (or to prefer the imagined consequences of suicide) but are prevented from doing so by depression-induced symptoms, like a lack of motivation and energy.

Due to their link with suicidal thoughts and acts, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its highest warning for makers of all antidepressants (particularly monoamine oxidase inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants [TCAs]) in 2003. Recent research contradicts the warning, particularly when provided to adults, indicating that the link between medicines and suicide ideation is ambiguous.

Individuals with anxiety problems who self-medicate with alcohol or drugs may also be more likely to entertain suicidal thoughts.

Life experiences

Significant predictors of higher suicidal thoughts are life events. In addition, life experiences can cause or be associated with previously stated psychiatric diseases, and can thus be used to predict suicidal ideation. The list of life events that increase a person’s risk can differ between adults and children, as a result of the differences between adult and child life circumstances. The life events that have been demonstrated to significantly increase risk are:

1. Alcohol use disorder

• Studies have indicated that binge drinkers generally have higher incidences of suicidal ideation compared to social drinkers.
• Some research studies have linked suicidal ideation with increased alcohol consumption.
• Not only do certain studies indicate that isolated binge drinking might enhance suicide ideation, but there is also a positive feedback loop that causes those with more suicidal ideation to consume more drinks per day in a single setting.

2. Minority gender expression or sexual orientation
3. Joblessness
4. Chronic pain or disease
5. Death of relatives or acquaintances
6. Relationship termination or rejection by a love interest
7. A significant shift in life standards (e.g. Relocation abroad)
8. Some studies have revealed a correlation between tobacco use and depression and suicidal ideation.
9. Unintended pregnancy
10. Bullying includes cyberbullying and bullying in the workplace
11. Prior suicide attempts
12. Military experience

• Suicidal ideation is more prevalent among military personnel with symptoms of PTSD, alcohol use disorder, major depressive illness, and generalized anxiety disorder.

13. Community conflicts
14. Unwanted variations in body weight
15. Exposure and focus on pictures or phrases relating to suicide

Family history 

1. Depression-prone parents

• Valenstein et al. examined 340 adult offspring of formerly depressed parents. They discovered that 7 percent of the children had suicidal thoughts in the previous month.

2. Abuse

• This includes emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in childhood and adolescent years

3. Family or domestic violence
4. Volatility in a child’s home life

• Several research studies link suicidal ideation to familial instability. Zappulla and Pace discovered in a 2010 article that parental alienation exacerbates suicidal thoughts in teen boys with depression. 
• Estimates of the lifetime prevalence rate of suicidal thoughts in nonclinical teenage populations range between 60 percent and 75 percent, and in many instances, its intensity increases the chance of suicide.