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Originally posted by tw
That summarizes the category that go to great lengths to advertise before the act. There must be suicide among the 'no nonsense' types who get it done and be done with it. How do these types differ from the advertised suicidal attempts. How is the mindset different?
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Allowing for individual differences, most suicidal people have some degree of ambivalence about the act ... which is why suicide hotlines exist and work ... however, once someone REALLY makes the decision there is often nothing that will stop them, particularly if that person chooses lethal means for the attempt ... firearm, hanging, etc. OD and CO poisoning generally allow a window of opportunity for the person to be found ... but doesn't always work out. One thing that you will notice in people who are VERY serious about their intent, is that once they have made the decision to kill themselves they actually become "happier"... it's not unusual for friends/family to say things like "I can't believe s/he committed suicide... s/he was doing so well ... everything seemed fine..." But then the concerned others may also notice that the person started doing things to "clean up" their lives ... see to the disposition of property, pets, etc. I know someone who recently completed suicide and the only "warning" anyone got was that she gave her dog away. Otherwise, everyone thought she was doing great.
Now, on the other hand, about those "doing it for attention" people ... One of my suicide prevention trainers tells this story...
There was this woman who would make "cry for attention" OD attempts. She was very experienced at setting the scene, writing the note, taking the pills, and then waiting for her husband to show up home from work (he was a state trooper out west somewhere). One night she got all ready, took her OD laid down on the couch to await his arrival and rescue at 6:00 ... He arrived home at 6:00 AM, rather than PM (he got mandated for a second shift) and found her dead the next day ...
Yeah, there are a lot of attention seeking attempts, I've seen a lot of wrist slittings that don't even rise to the level of minor self mutilation, "OD's" that consist of 5-10 pills ... but also people don't sometimes understand the lethality of some meds ... Tylenol, for example. A Tylenol OD probably won't kill you today ... but without the proper treatment you WILL be on liver transplant list in the next year or two ...