Say someone wants to die by suicide so badly that they go to the Golden Gate Bridge to jump off. But then they are stopped from jumping. What happens to them afterward?
You might think that, once freed from the authority figures who prevented their suicide on the bridge, they still went on to by suicide. After all, they were intent on dying. It would be logical to assume that being prevented from jumping merely delayed their death.
Such an assumption would be wrong. In the 1970s, a researcher named Richard Seiden wanted to find out what happened to 515 people who came to the Golden Gate Bridge to die within the previous 35 years, but who were stopped by California Highway Patrol officers. He published the results in an article titled “Where Are They Now?: A Follow-up Study of Suicide Attempters from the Golden Gate Bridge.”
What Dr. Seiden found is a remarkable testament to the fact that a suicidal crisis is often – very often – temporary.
Of the 515 people whose attempt was interrupted, only 35 later died by suicide in the years to come. Taking into account suicides that might have been missed by researchers, Dr. Seiden stated that 90% of people who tried to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge did not go on to die by suicide.
Living After a Suicide Attempt: Other Research Findings
This research, though 35 years old, still holds true. Even though a prior suicide attempt dramatically increases the risk for future suicide, studies have demonstrated that most people who survive a suicide attempt do not go on to die by suicide:
- In a study out of Finland of 224 people who attempted suicide and were treated at a health care facility, 8% died by suicide within 12 years.
- Researchers in Sweden followed 34,219 people who were hospitalized following an act of intentional self-harm. During 3 to 9 years of follow-up, 3.5% died by suicide.
- One study followed 100 people who had survived a suicide attempt by overdose. At the end of the 37-year follow up, 13% had died by suicide. (This study’s mortality rate is higher than others, almost certainly because of the long follow-up period and the serious nature of the attempt, which warranted admission to a hospital.)
- Overall, a recent review of 177 research studies around the world found that 4% of people who survived intentionally hurting or poisoning themselves went on to die by suicide within 5 years.
Why Do Suicide Attempt Survivors Stay Alive?
There are different possible reasons why people who attempt suicide, or try to make such an attempt, might choose afterward to stay alive. The most intuitive reason is that suicidal crises are, by their nature, temporary. More often than not, the crisis passes.
Too, people who attempt suicide may receive the help they need afterwards. Friends and family may rally to their side. Therapists and doctors may help provide relief. The person’s reasons for dying may begin to fade.
Another possibility is that the instinct to live kicks in once someone comes close to dying. Until then, that instinct may have been obscured by depression, stress, hopelessness or despair.
The Instinct to Live after a Suicide Attempt
The story of Kevin Hines demonstrates the clarity that can finally appear when someone’s life is on the line. In 2000, he actually did jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. Precious few people survive such a fall; the water about 200 feet below acts the same as concrete when a person lands on it at high speed.
Although severe depression led him to jump off the bridge, Kevin Hines has stated:
“The very second I let go, I knew I had made a big mistake.”
For Kevin Hines, the will to live kicked in immediately. He managed to turn himself upright in the few seconds it took for him to hit the water; this way, he did not land on his head. After he was rescued, he continued to live, and lives still, serving as a suicide prevention advocate at the national level.
Life and Death After a Suicide Attempt
Obviously, the will to live does not reassert itself in everyone who has tried to die. We cannot overlook that 10% of people who survive a suicide attempt do go on to die by suicide. And half of people who die by suicide had attempted suicide at least once previously.
The tragedy of suicide is indisputable. The ongoing survival of people who attempt suicide is not (always) inevitable.
Yet it gives me great hope that the vast majority of suicide attempt survivors remain just that – survivors. This is perhaps the best argument for preventing suicide. It is true that suicide sometimes defies even the best efforts to thwart it. But overall, the evidence is that prevention is not simply a temporary delay of death.
Suicide prevention can save lives. And for most of those whose lives were saved, life goes on for many more years to come.
© Copyright 2013 Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW, All Rights Reserved. Written for www.speakingofsuicide.com. Photos purchased from Fotolia.com
Edited on April 26, 2017.
I can’t go on anymore. Life is not worth staying here. I’m embarrassed, im ashamed, I not a good person, I’m not a good wife and not a good mother or grandmother. I’ve done things I’m ashamed of. Can’t forgive myself. My daughter needs help I can’t help her or myself. I pray all the time but I don’t think he hears me. I’ve lost all my friends. I need to shut my eyes and not feel the pain anymore. My son’s are drug addicts and my daughter is a pill popper and drinking way way too much
It’s everyday. My husband has cancer and diabetes and heart problems and kidney disease. My mom just died a few months ago and my uncle after that and now my brother is going to jail for having sex with minor. My sisternlaw just had a stroke and another uncle died a week ago. I have no friends. My daughter got caught shop lifting for her family. I was with her. I didn’t stop her. What good am I
Hello.
I am sorry for the silly question but if someone’s problems are too huge to handle and may regarded as ‘beyond help’ or ‘cannot be helped’ can patients ask to be euthanized or something like that? Is there anything we can do even if suicide may be the answer because of someone’s huge problems? Thank you very much
Pram,
In the U.S., euthanasia is illegal. Some states permit “assisted suicide” (also called assisted death) if the person has a terminal illness with a prognosis of 6 months or less. Some countries permit euthanasia. You can read more in this Wikipedia post.
As a victim of child abuse, my father tried to kill me on several occasions. My mom never took care of me, so my grandparents stepped in. But they’ve also told me they regret it, asked me if I could just be bisexual for them. In their Catholic household, nobody informed me of homosexuality in the bible. In Catholic school, I came out, and got discriminated by teachers more than students. I had to quit believing in god before I knew how I really felt on the matter. My best friend and I protected each other. But recently, I took around 100 Benadryl, drank some 99 bananas, among other substances, and tried to say goodbye to her. I woke up in the hospital, but there’s a clawing urge to return to that unaware state. But please don’t use this statistic to shame survivors for attempting, or to invalidate people’s often silent pain. Understand the feeling. I’m not going to be here forever, and I don’t know how long I truly want my life to last. But I feel much, much older than I am and live I’ve lived several lives. A part of my body always feels tired and it slowly gets worse by day. There’s nothing I want, nobody I want to talk to and the list keeps getting shorter.
My name is Denis and I live in England I am still recovering at the moment on 22nd of April 2020 I attempted to end my life I jumped off a 5 story carpark and survived I broke my left leg in 3 places and my right ankle in 6 places and my back in 2 places but I am lucky because I am recovering well and I can walk .people say its a mircle but I feel gulty because no one knew about the thoughts I was having for years because I did not tell any one to the outside world I was the life and soul of the party .I feel ashamed that now every one is worried about me and that is not what I wanted. I feel selfish but I feel like I still have to be brave for people because of their fear I might try again. I had my suicidal thoughts since I was a child I lost my mum when I was 9 years old she took her own life and even now after my attempt I still don’t know how to feel about what happened to her and what I have done to my self but I know I will have to find a way to live with the impact of my attempt and hopefully find a way to some sort of happiness
Please seek help, therapy to work through your trauma, it must be so hard to have lost your mum in this way and your nine year old self could only feel abandoned, not enough to have stopped her. I am sure your little self felt “am I not lovable enough” but it was never about you, your mum was in pain and obviously thought you would be better off without her, but it is not a reflection on you, hard to accept as children are programmed to feel the centre of the world. I want you to know you are loveable and precious. I am sure your mum will be watching over you, so sad that she caused you so much pain, please seek help, you are precious, with love xxx