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.
Thank you. This site continues to distract me from my suicidal thoughts. I attempted when I was a teenager. It was in 1984. At the time, a made for TV movie, named “Silence of the Heart” came out. As a teenager, I related so closely and had so many mixed emotions in comparing the results of my vs the character’s attempts. Throughout the years, I’ve engaged in self-injurious behaviors. Lately, the suicidal thoughts have permeated my brain. I find myself returning to that time in my life and wondering if this is the way I’m supposed to go, or if the survival instinct will continue to win. At this point, the instinct is what keeps me living.
What % of those people were financially ruined (ie dead broke) with no job or no home? Sure if you’ve got someone/s to bail you out after your attempt, yeah you’ve got a reason to live. But what about people like me? I am dead broke, have exhausted both my savings and retirement stash, I am about to have my car repo’d and can’t find a job. Which will turn into the vicious cycle of no job= no money, and no money = no job. Try convincing someone like me that life is worth it. What, I’m supposed to carry on with the HOPE that things MIGHT get better. So in a couple days with no vehicle no money and no job, I’m just supposed to trudge on, because “life is precious” or whatever other placating device people Banty about?
Dear Anthony, [feb.6.2019 @9.26am].
I’m here. I hear you. Challenges, extreme challenges. Getting through them is the way to make your life your own again.. There is a strength within you. God Bless You. I pray tonight.
How are you Anthony?
I feel fortunate and very grateful that so many individuals take their time and devote energy to sharing what they have experienced in their lives-it is so difficult for most people to understand in its wholeness-the value of life ..the science of every day living and the extreme depth and mystery and solstice to human beings, but one way to start understanding why people: innocents commit suicide is to acknowlege the exact factors of why a healthy person would just turn off the switch to existence. My family lied to me about basically everything relevant and valuable in life. They lied about every imaginable factor of surviving in life. I will just speak it: Their lies destroyed me and there is no one on earth greater than you and those you love and want to protect. Look at life this way Instead of allowing a human being to be a target almost like a bomb dropping on ringed target Simply flip the idea of all the violence and fear over…..Draw a Large Heart then several hearts within …Make a plan for dreams and plans …Stick to it .. The main principle to this is very simple Taking energy and harnessing it for the good and nothing can go wrong……..
I tried commiting suicide and ended up brain dead… Then after I got out of the coma, I was put in rehab for 11 months where I kept trying to break my neck and die because I missed my fiance so much (he wasn’t allowed to visit me because he had attempted suicide with me too since he didn’t want to live without me). And now I’ve been out of rehab for 5 months and it’s weird because all a sudden everything is going my way now…. Except that my fiance was making me depressed because he wouldn’t move in with me again like how we were living together before. But the other day I told him that and now he’s moving in with me again so my life is going good again!
I dont understand why things are suddenly going so well for me though.. You’d think karma would hit me and make my life way worse but I guess the universe wants me alive for some reason?
Splashstorm,
You’ve been through an enormous amount. It’s great to hear that things are going well for you now. Thanks for sharing your story here. It’s sad how much you’ve suffered, and it’s inspirational how differently you feel right now.
My mother battled w depression I watched her battle hard all my life and still. She tried to take her life when I was 12. I use to hate her for wanting to leave me, got diagnosed w depression at 15 have done so many therapy sessions. 18 I held a gun to my head in my backyard w my finger on the trigger. I couldn’t pull all the way. Confessed to my dad and got shipped to a hospital. Have had lots of therapy after that. I’m about to be 22, medicated trying to live normal… with constant suicidal thoughts. I often want to jump off the bridge by my apartment. I fantasize a lot about suicide. I feel if I constantly feel like this over the years why don’t I just die now? (felt good to be honest for once)
Skeleton,
I’m sorry to hear about all the pain you’ve been through. You definitely are not alone, and it does often feel good to be honest about suicidal thoughts — to speak what many people consider to be the unspeakable.
I wonder if you might benefit from talking with like-minded folks at ChronicSuicideSupport.com. They have a good, nonjudgmental, and supportive discussions at ChronicSuicideSupport.com/forum/.
You also can find other places to get help by phone, email, chat, or text at http://www.SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources/#immediatehelp.