Suicide methods: Difference between revisions
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{{Suicide}} |
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This is a list of means and methods of [[suicide|killing oneself]]. |
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== Burning oneself (self-immolation)== |
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{{main|Self-immolation}} |
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Self-immolation is the act of setting oneself on fire, often practiced as a form of [[protest]] against a particular [[government]] or regime. Burning to death can take several minutes to several days, making this a painful way to expire. Self-immolation is not foolproof; if done in public, a suicidal person might be stopped by people nearby. Death may result from smoke inhalation, shock, or after a period of days, systemic failure. A person who survives self-immolation may still suffer extensive [[Burn (injury)|burns]]. An [[accelerant]] such as [[gasoline]] is frequently used to hasten death. |
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Famous people who have chosen this way to die: |
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* [[Romas Kalanta]], in protest against the [[Soviet Union]]'s occupation of his homeland of [[Lithuania]]. |
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* [[Thich Quang Duc|Thích Quảng Ðức]], in protest against the oppression of [[Buddhism]] by the administration of [[Vietnam|Vietnamese]] [[Prime Minister]] [[Ngo Dinh Diem|Ngô Đình Diệm]]. |
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* [[Norman Morrison]], an American who self-immolated in protest against the [[Vietnam War]] |
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== Drowning == |
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Suicide by [[drowning]] is the act of deliberately submerging oneself in water and staying there long enough to deprive the lungs of oxygen. This method risks permanent [[brain damage]] if rescue arrives after the brain has been deprived of [[oxygen]] for several minutes. Drowning can be accomplished by walking into water with heavy objects attached to the body to prevent buoyancy or escape (this method was employed by the writer [[Virginia Woolf]]). A person can also drown by driving into water or jumping off a ship, boat, or bridge. |
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If a car is driven into water, it will usually stay afloat for some time before sinking. After submerging, the pressure outside the car will exceed the pressure inside, preventing its occupants from opening the doors until the interior fills with water and the pressure has equalized. |
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For drowning by jumping from a bridge, see the section on '''[[Suicide methods#Jumping|Jumping]]'''. |
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Famous people who have chosen this way to die: |
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Virginia Woolf |
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* [[Ludwig II]], the king of [[Bavaria]], when he was removed from power on charges of [[insanity]]. It is unknown whether he committed suicide or was killed. |
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== Electrocution == |
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Electrocution involves using a lethal [[electric shock]] to kill oneself. A high enough voltage can overcome the high resistance of the skin and pass a sizable current through the trunk. A large alternating current through the body can seriously disrupt [[nerve|nerve signal]]s and can cause the [[heart]] to go into [[fibrillation]]. |
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In this method of suicide, water is often involved, as the ions in commonly available water make it a good conductor of electricity (distilled or [[deionized water|deionized]] water, however, lacks these impurities and will not conduct). A common method is to sit in a [[bathtub]] full of water and throw in an electrical device that is plugged into an outlet. [[Fuse (electrical)|Fuse]]s installed in the electrical device can potentially thwart this method when a [[short-circuit]] occurs. |
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As with other forms, electrocution is not always fatal and can result in brain damage or other neurological impairment. |
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== Hanging == |
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{{main|Hanging}} |
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[[Image:Giotto - Scrovegni - -47- - Desperation.jpg|thumb|right|120px|Suicide by [[hanging]].]] |
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Hanging is typically performed in the one of the following three ways: |
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#'''Drop hanging.''' After putting a [[noose]] around the neck and tying the other end to some fixed object, a person jumps or drops himself from a height with the aim of breaking the neck. |
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#'''Vertical position.''' A person strangles himself using their own weight. This is slower than the previous method. Strangulation is usually performed by standing on an easily-movable object such as a chair, putting a noose around one's neck and attaching the other end to a fixed object above one's head, and then kicking the object away. |
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#'''Horizontal position.''' This is usually done when conditions do not allow for other means. The person puts a noose around his neck and attaches the other end to something that sticks out (e.g., a doorknob or water tap) and then uses his own force to push away from it, or establishes a position where gravity can help. Due to prolonged asphyxiation, blood may pool in the eyes before death. |
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== Jumping == |
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#'''Jumping from a tall building or from a bridge.''' The impact can shatter organs and tissues. If a person jumps from a bridge into water, the person may die by drowning rather than by impact, especially if the bridge lies low over the water. [[Defenestration|Self-defenestration]] from six stories leads to a 90% chance of death. <ref>[http://www.ctrl-c.liu.se/~ingvar/methods/other.html Part III, other methods], Methods File. Retrieved 15 May 2006.</ref> |
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#'''Jumping off the stern of a ship.''' This is done by jumping off the stern of a ship into cold water and ultimately [[drowning]]. The chances of rescue are small since [[hypothermia]] sets in rapidly; it is also difficult to turn a ship around in time for any serious rescue attempt. |
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#'''Jumping under/in front of a train, tram or car.''' The damage done depends on the speed and weight of the vehicle. Being struck by a vehicle takes less damage and is less lethal than being run over. Nevertheless, just an arm or a leg may get under the wheels, and the person may survive maimed. |
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== Lethal injection == |
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Injection of a harmful chemical substance, drug or air into the bloodstream. Injecting enough air into a vein causes an [[air embolism]] and acute heart failure. The effect of drugs or other chemicals injected into the bloodstream depends on the chemical and quantity injected. This method is not always effective or lethal. |
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== Overdosing == |
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This method involves taking a large dose of medication, such as [[sleeping pills]], [[antidepressants]], [[painkillers]]. Due to the unpredictability of dosing requirements, death is uncertain and an attempt may leave a person alive but with severe organ damage. Drugs taken orally may also be vomited back out before being absorbed. Overdosing may also be performed by mixing medications with one another or with alcohol or illegal drugs. This method may leave confusion over whether the death was a suicide or accidental. |
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[[Painkiller]] overdoses are among the most unpleasant things for medical personnel to deal with. Often these are teenagers taking [[over-the-counter substance]]s such as [[paracetamol]] (acetaminophen) in a 'cry for help', believing that these everyday drugs will not cause too much damage. Paracetamol overdoses cause very painful [[liver failure]] over a period of days, so it is common for people to regret their choice in hospital when it is too late to do anything about it: there is currently no medical treatment for liver failure except a [[liver transplantation]]. People who overdose on paracetamol may have no serious adverse symptoms for days afterwards; the effect of a paracetamol overdose can be [[Paracetamol#Treatment|reversed]] if medical treatment is sought within a few hours of taking the drug. |
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==Plastic bag method == |
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A plastic bag is used for this method, often combined with [[sleep]]-inducing drugs, a near overdose or other ingredients such as glue which is [[Inhalants|inhaled]] with a intentions of causing [[hallucinations]] or [[drowsiness]]. Unconsciousness or sleep sets in as a result of lack of [[oxygen]] to the [[brain]] and the use of drugs. Since the combined use of drugs often results in a deep sleep or [[unconsciousness]], the person may eventually [[Asphyxia|suffocate]] during sleep without being [[aware]] of this. This method is particularly dangerous since the person has no further control over his or her will after becoming unconscious or falling asleep. On the other hand, there is a [[risk]] of [[brain damage]] should this method be rendered incomplete. |
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== Poisoning == |
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Suicide can be committed by using [[poisons]]. Effectively, this is the same as overdosing; however, the chance of success is higher though the dosage required still varies from person to person. Because the most potent poisons are usually inaccessible to the general public, this method was traditionally used by people in power, such as [[politicians]] or [[military]] leaders. With some frequency in the past, household and industrial chemicals would be consumed, such as lye or photographic solutions containing cyanide. Death could be very painful but it has been theorized that such persons felt they were sinning by killing themselves and wished to punish themselves. |
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Famous people who chose this way to die: |
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[[Eva Braun]], wife of [[Adolf Hitler]], used [[potassium cyanide]] after it was apparent that the Germans lost WWII. |
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[[Herman Goering]], after he was arrested and sentenced to hanging. He managed to get a capsule of cyanide and used it the night before, which he saw as being a more honorable death. |
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[[Socrates]] committed suicide using the poisonous [[hemlock]] plant rather than be ostracised from the city of Athens for his crimes against the philosophy of the state. |
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== Seppuku == |
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{{main|Seppuku}} |
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Seppuku is a [[Japan]]ese ritual method of suicide, practiced mostly in the [[Japan#Medieval era|medieval era]], though some isolated cases appear in modern times. The most widely-known part of seppuku in western society is probably the slashing of the abdomen; however, the ritual is far more complex than that. Dressed ceremonially, with his sword placed in front of him and sometimes seated on special cloths, the warrior would prepare for death by writing a [[death poem]]. With a selected attendant ([[kaishakunin]], his second) standing by, he would open his [[kimono]], take up his [[wakizashi]] (short sword), [[Japanese war fan|fan]], or a [[tanto]] (knife) and plunge it into his abdomen, making first a left-to-right cut and then a second slightly upward stroke. On the second stroke, the kaishakunin would perform [[daki-kubi]], a ritual in which the warrior is all but decapitated (a slight band of flesh is left attaching the head to the body). In the case that a fan is used (usually when the person is very young or particularly evil) the kaishakunin would perform the daki-kubi the moment the fan touched the person's abdomen. |
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Famous people who have chosen this way to die: |
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[[Yukio Mishima]], after a failed [[coup d'etat]] intended to restore full power to the [[Japanese Emperor]] |
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== Shooting == |
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[[Image:Suicide rates by methods, aged 15-19 (1992-2001).gif|thumb|Methods of suicide among person aged 15-19. The use of a firearm is the leading method in the United States.]] |
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This method involves using a [[firearm]] on oneself. It is used more frequently in countries where firearms are easier to obtain. It is debatable, however, if that increases the number of suicides in general; it might be that it just increases the number of people choosing this method. In countries where firearms are harder to obtain, this method is sometimes still used, especially by people who use firearms in their work (e.g., soldiers or policemen). |
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The lethality of the method depends on where the shot is aimed, usually the side of forehead or the mouth (both ways ultimately aimed at the brain). In some cases the heart is chosen as a target, but it is harder to aim correctly. A shot to the abdomen will cause a slower death, which will be caused through blood loss rather than organ trauma. Brain or heart damage kills a person more quickly; however, the gun must be powerful enough for that to succeed. |
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As in other shootings, shooting suicides have a high mortality rate but occasionally result in seemingly miraculous survivals where the bullet causes little or no damage to life-critical faculties. Some studies have shown that in Western nations, males tend to use this method of suicide more often than females, which has been cited as one potential reason for the higher suicide success rate among men. Though most men shoot themselves in the head, women tend to shoot themselves in the heart to do less facial damage.<ref>[http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/145/6/718 "Some differences between men and women who commit suicide"], ''American Journal of Psychiatry'', Rich ''et al.'', 1988. Retrieved 3 May 2006.</ref> |
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== Slashing throat == |
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Cutting through the [[throat]] is another suicide method. Here, death is caused by blood loss or blood clogging the [[trachea]]. It was also practiced as a ritual suicide method in [[Japan]], used by noble women for the same purposes as [[seppuku]] was used by men. This method cuts the major [[artery]] which leads to the brain and it takes no longer than a few minutes to lose enough blood for the wound to be fatal. It is very difficult to prevent death in these situations. |
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== Slashing wrists == |
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Slashing or slitting one's wrists entails cutting through the wrists until one of the arteries is reached. People choosing this method die because of the massive blood loss from the [[radial artery]] or the [[ulnar artery]]. This method is also frequently used as [[self-harm]], and it is not an immediately lethal method; therefore, not all people who slash their wrists intend suicide (this is then called [[parasuicide]] where suicide is either not sought or is not accomplished). |
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It is generally difficult to die by slashing the wrists since the arteries tend to try to spasm shut in response. Bleeding to death by veins is even harder and rarer. It can take a few hours or even more to finally die from the blood loss, depending on body weight, clotting problems (such as alcohol or aspirin in the blood), etc. |
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Slashing wrists may damage [[tendons]] which could cause partial loss of one's ability to control their hand. |
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Sometimes someone who is cutting their wrists may not mean to cut as deep as they do, resulting in an accidental suicide. |
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== Starving to death == |
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This type of suicide, known as [[Upwa]]s to [[Hindu]]s and [[Jain]]s, is considered by some cultures to be the only [[legitimate]] suicide method, because it cannot be done impulsively and the person spends the time beforehand detaching themselves from the world, in [[meditation]]. |
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It takes a long time and is rare in western society. Also, when a person collapses due to starvation, it is still possible in most cases to save them by injecting nutrients [[intravenous]]ly. |
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== Suffocation by Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning == |
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[[Suffocation]] by enough of a [[gas]] which disrupts the body, usually through failure of the [[respiratory system]]. In most cases [[carbon monoxide]] ([[Carbon|C]][[Oxygen|O]]) is used for this, as it is easily available as a product of [[combustion]]; for example, it can be released by cars and some types of heaters. Carbon monoxide is colourless and odourless, so breathing it is almost unnoticeable. However, CO [[molecule]]s attach themselves to [[hemoglobin]] in the blood, displacing [[oxygen]] molecules and denying sufficient oxygen levels to the body, eventually resulting in death. |
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There was a [[euthanasia]] device invented on this principle where a person using it would have to breathe out of it a few times and then could die. |
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=== CO Poisoning by Car Exhaust === |
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In the past, suicide by [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] was usually achieved by running a car's engine in a closed space such as a garage, or by connecting the car's exhaust pipe to the inside of the car with a hose. Air-quality regulations have begun to rule out suicide by this route though, as [[catalytic converter]]s were designed to clean up the exhausts and remove all but a trace of CO. |
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=== CO Poisoning by Burning Fossil Fuel === |
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When carbon monoxide poisoning via car exhaust has become less of a suicide option, suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning — that of burning [[fossil fuel]] within a confined space began to rise. Such incidents have occurred in connection with group [[suicide pact]]s in both Japan and Hong Kong<!--, but are starting to occur in western countries as well - THIS REQUIRES CITING-->. (See also: [[suicide pact]], which includes an extensive discussion of "Internet Suicide Pacts".) |
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==Suicide by Police== |
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{{main|Suicide by cop}} |
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The practice rates for suicide by police have increased over the years. It entails the act of someone purposely behaving dangerously in front of a [[law enforcement]] [[Police officer|officer]] or other armed officer so that the officer would use his weapon to kill. Sometimes people simply use toy weapons so as to appear as a threat. |
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Sometimes even a cop will shoot himself. |
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==Controversies== |
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Works detailing the ways in which one can suicide are known as suicide manuals. The [[morality]] of suicide manuals has been a controversial issue for many years and it continues to be a subject of intense debate. For instance, a suicide manual entitled ''[[Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying]]'' by [[Derek Humphry]] generated controversy in 1991. The book spent many weeks on the [[New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times'' Best Seller list]] and its publication/sale was banned in multiple countries. |
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A popular argument in favor of suicide manuals is that a person has the right to end his/her own life in an effective manner, thus minimizing the probability of a "botched suicide". A common argument against suicide manuals is that they can entice a reader to commit suicide, by inadvertently glamorizing the act. |
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==References== |
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<div class="references-small"> |
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<references /> |
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</div> |
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==Further reading== |
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* Stone, Geo. ''Suicide and Attempted Suicide: Methods and Consequences''. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2001. ISBN 0-7867-0940-5 |
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* [[Derek Humphry|Humphry, Derek]]. ''[[Final Exit|Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying]]''. Dell. 1997. |
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* In the domain of verse, the difficult quest for a satisfactory method of suicide was mordantly assessed in the well-known long story "Résumé" by [[Dorothy Parker]] (from ''Enough Rope'' ([[1926]])) |
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==External links== |
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* [http://suicidemethods.net/ Website of Geo Stone, author of ''Suicide and Attempted Suicide''] - contains 40% of the book |
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* [http://www.finalexit.org/ddbookframe.html "How-to" Euthanasia Books, Annotated Bibliography] - list of books on suicide methods by Derek Humphry, author of ''Final Exit'' |
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* [http://www.ctrl-c.liu.se/~ingvar/methods/ alt.suicide.holiday Methods File] - a file showing different methods of suicide |
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[[Category:Suicide]] |
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[[tr:İntihar yöntemleri]] |
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[[ru:Вскрытие вен]] |
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