Suicide Prevention 13 What is suicide? The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) identify Suicide as the act of intentionally causing one’s own death and is often related to complex stressors and health issues. Suicide occurs across all ages, incomes, ethnicities and social factors. What are the signs and symptoms? People who are at risk for suicide may: ● show a change in mood or behaviour ● show a sense of hopelessness and helplessness ● express the wish to die or end their life ● increase substance use ● withdraw from people and activities that they previously enjoyed If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide, this is a mental health emergency, and you are deserving of help. Call the Mental Health Crisis Line at 811 or call your local mental health and addictions office to speak to a counselor. Most often, people experience suicidal thoughts when they have lost hope and feel helpless.They want their pain to end, and they may see no other way out. Suicide can also be an impulsive act that follows the use of substances. In some cases, people with psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia may hear voices that tell them to harm themselves. Suicide can be prevented. Most people who have suicidal thoughts, or who have attempted suicide, do not die by suicide. Many people can recover from these experiences and live full and meaningful lives. SUICIDE PREVENTION Image by freepik.com continued
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