2024-09-10 19:40:21
Advice for those affected and their relatives
Is life difficult for you? Help is available here
Updated on 10.09.2024 – 08:22Reading time: 4 min.
The thought of not wanting to live like this anymore occurs in mental illnesses, but also in life crises. The most important thing is to talk about it. Experts give advice to those affected and their families.
Every year on September 10th, World Suicide Prevention Day is dedicated to raising awareness and providing support for people with suicidal thoughts. In Germany, over 10,000 people died by suicide last year, and many more attempted suicide. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the numbers have risen slightly compared to the previous year. There were particularly many suicides among older people over 65 years of age.
But: If you are suicidal, help is available and suicide can be avoided, says Prof. Dr. Reinhard Lindner, one of the two directors of the National Suicide Prevention Program for Germany (NaSPro). He explains how people with suicidal thoughts can get help in their extreme despair and how relatives can support them.
In 2023, more people took their own lives than in the previous year. Almost half of the people who committed suicide were 65 years or older (46 percent). At the same time, one in 21 people who died by suicide was younger than 25. Even though the number of cases is lower in the younger age groups, suicide-related mortality is particularly high among young people, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Among those under 25, suicide was the most common cause of death in 2023, ahead of traffic accidents and cancer. 18 percent of all deaths in this age group were suicides.
In general, however, the suicide rate continues to decline. Compared to 2003, the number of suicide deaths fell by almost eight percent. Compared to 1980, the number fell by 44 percent.
“The first step should always be to get help,” says Prof. Lindner. In other words, not to remain alone in the seemingly hopeless situation, but to confide in someone and talk about the suicidal tendencies, in other words about “your own despair, which goes so far that you want to kill yourself.”
And does that help? In most cases, yes, reports the specialist in neurology, psychiatry, psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic medicine. “In fact, the vast majority of people who are thinking about committing suicide turn to others in one way or another. And then they don’t do it.” Because together they come up with possible solutions and ways to improve things.
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There are many ways to get support: for example, counseling, crisis intervention, psychotherapy or even psychiatric treatment. It also depends on how acute the suicidal thought or desire is, says Lindner.
His advice: If you are feeling very bad because you are completely unable to cope with a situation or a problem – for example because a loved one has left you and you feel like you cannot live without that person – you can think about who you can talk to about this, even in your own environment, who will not give in to fear or stress, but can talk to you on an equal level about why you are so desperate.
Crisis hotlines such as the telephone counseling service (0800 1110111 or 0800 1110222) offer anonymous conversations and advice. The anonymity is often very helpful, says Lindner: “Because I can talk to this one person and tell them things that I wouldn’t tell anyone else.”
General practitioners and psychotherapists (consultation hours by calling 116 117 or online) are of course also possible options, and sometimes religious contacts could also be of help.
But if you are actually planning suicide and cannot find any distance from it, then the very best thing is to go to a psychiatric clinic, says Prof. Lindner. You can do this via the emergency room or a psychiatric outpatient clinic and at any time of day or night. “You can first speak to the admitting doctor and other specialists and usually you stay there for a few days as part of a crisis intervention to calm down and get out of the situation.”
This basic care is “very effective and helpful in helping you survive” in an acute crisis, says the expert. In psychiatry, sensible next steps can be discussed.
What exactly makes sense depends on individual factors, but also on care factors, explains Lindner. “If you live in a rural area with a rather poor care situation and few counseling and psychotherapy options, he recommends the outpatient department of a psychiatric clinic, “because there you meet people who understand something about the situation you are in.”
The first point of contact is your family doctor, psychiatrist or psychotherapist. In acute crises, the nearest psychiatric clinic or the emergency doctor can help by calling 112. You can also reach the telephone counseling service free of charge at any time on 0800 1110111 or 0800 1110222. You can find crisis services in your region at the German Depression Help and Suicide Prevention Foundation, for example.
It can be just a feeling or concrete signs: If you are worried and afraid that someone is considering taking their own life, you should not wait. Here too, the following applies: “The most important step is to seek a conversation,” says Lindner. You should address the situation in concrete terms. Many people shy away from this. But it is important to ask, for example: “Are you feeling bad? Do you sometimes feel like you want to give up?”, says Lindner.