Summary
At least 34,000 people in the United States died from suicide in 2014. Many thousands more considered ending their own life or made a suicide attempt. Those who attempted suicide but survived will live with an increased risk of attempting suicide again. Suicide, however, is not an inevitable act. Although many factors influence a person's choice to commit suicide, depression and other treatable diseases often play a part. Temporary adverse life situations, such as a financial crisis, also sometimes contribute to suicide.
Although it can be difficult to spot the signs of someone contemplating suicide, help is available, and getting help early on can make a difference. The Encyclopedia of Suicide is a ready reference for the causes, methods, and psychology of suicide as well as treatments and therapies available for those in need. Presenting more than 80 articles that detail warning signs and risk factors, religious and social issues, psychological and sociological viewpoints, and recent statistics, this encyclopedia also discusses new trends in research and treatment.
Topics covered include:
- alcohol-enabled suicide
- bullying
- child abuse and neglect
- cultural beliefs about suicide
- drug-enabled suicide
- family members coping with suicide
- methods of suicide
- obsessive-compulsive disorder
- signs of a potential suicide
- suicide hotlines.
About the Author(s)
Mark S. Gold, M.D., was the chief of the Division of Addiction Medicine in the psychiatry department at the University of Florida in Gainesville and a professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine in the departments of psychiatry, neuroscience, community health, and family medicine until his retirement. He is the editor, the coeditor, or on the editorial board of numerous publications, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, Psychopharmacology, Archives of General Psychiatry, The American Journal of Psychiatry, The Lancet, American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Journal of Addictive Disease, Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy, Pharmacotherapy, and Postgraduate Medicine.
Christine Adamec has written more than 25 books on medical and self-help topics. She has worked with physicians to produce medical self-help books on topics such as fibromyalgia and prostate cancer. Her books for Facts On File include The Encyclopedia of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse; The Encyclopedia of Diabetes, Second Edition; The Encyclopedia of the Digestive System and Digestive Disorders, Second Edition; and The Encyclopedia of Drug Abuse. Adamec is a member of the American Medical Writers Association and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. She lives in Florida.