| Revision as of 23:47, 13 December 2007 view sourceAfter Midnight (talk | contribs)Administrators72,264 edits Removing instance of image Thich Quang Duc - Self Immolation.jpg that has been speedily deleted per (CSD I6); using TW← Previous edit | Revision as of 01:42, 14 December 2007 view source 74.183.32.34 (talk) ←Blanked the pageNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Suicide}} | |||
| A '''suicide method''' is any means by which a person purposely kills him- or herself. Examples of methods that have been used to commit ] are listed below. | |||
| == Bleeding == | |||
| ] is a method of death which is caused by ]. It is usually the result of damage inflicted on ]. The ], ], ] or ] arteries would be targeted. | |||
| ====Cutting wrists==== | |||
| This entails cutting through the wrists and may damage the ], ] and ] nerves which control the muscles of the hand, which can result in temporary or permanent reduction in sensory and motor ability (if one survives). | |||
| <ref>{{cite journal | last = Bukhari | first =AJ | coauthors =Saleem M, Bhutta AR, Khan AZ, Abid KJ. | title = Spaghetti wrist: management and outcome | journal = J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. | volume = 14 | issue =(10) | pages = 608-11 | date= 2004 Oct | pmid = 15456551}}</ref> Wrist slitting is usually not fatal and it is thought that of all suicide attempts using this method, only 1% succeed.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}. | |||
| ====Cutting the carotid artery==== | |||
| Cutting through the ] is one method of exsanguination. Damage is inflicted to the ] which carries blood to the ], and it takes no longer than a few minutes to lose enough blood for death to occur, although death could also be caused by blood clogging the ]. People who do this often cut the recurrent laryngeal nerve, the nerve that goes up to the voicebox and larynx, and lose their voices. | |||
| It was also practiced as a ritual suicide method in ] called '']'', by noble women for the same purposes as ] was used by men. | |||
| == Carbon monoxide poisoning == | |||
| A particular type of asphyxia involves inhalation of high levels of carbon monoxide. | |||
| Death usually occurs through ]. In most cases ] (CO) is used because it is easily available as a product of incomplete ]; for example it may be released by ]s and some types of ]s. | |||
| Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless ], so its presence cannot be detected by sight or smell. It is harmful to humans since the CO ]s attach themselves irreversibly to ] in the blood, displacing oxygen molecules and progressively lowering the body's ], eventually resulting in death. | |||
| In the past, before ] regulations and ]s, suicide by ] would often be achieved by running a car's engine in a closed space such as a garage, or by redirecting a running car's exhaust back inside the cabin with a hose. ] may have contained up to 25% carbon monoxide. However, catalytic converters can eliminate over 99% of carbon monoxide produced.<ref name="Chest1999-vossberg">{{cite journal | author=Vossberg B, Skolnick J. | title=The role of catalytic converters in automobile carbon monoxide poisoning: a case report | journal=Chest | year=1999 | pages=580-1 | volume=115 | issue=2 | id=PMID 10027464}}</ref> | |||
| The incidence of suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning through burning ] within a confined space appears to have risen. This has been referred by some as "death by hibachi". <ref>, ''British Medical Journal (326:498)'', Chan ''et al.'', 2003.</ref> | |||
| == Drowning == | |||
| ] | |||
| Suicide by ] is the act of deliberately submerging oneself in ] or other liquid and staying there long enough to prevent ]ing and ]. Due to the body's natural tendency to come up for air, one often ties a heavy object to oneself to circumvent this reflex and increase his or her chances of drowning. As with other deaths by one, if the drowning is stopped before death, ] deprivation can cause ]. | |||
| == Suffocation == | |||
| Suicide by ] is the act of inhibiting one's ability to breathe, causing ] to kill the suicidal person. Another method is to put a plastic bag tightly sealed over the head, or trapping oneself in a room without oxygen. This is usually not very effective, as the suicidees usually pass out from lack of oxygen before they can die, or, as well known, at the last minute tears at the plastic bag or other device, resulting in not death, but a grisly continuance, with a diminished brain capacity. These attempts usually involve using depressants to make the user pass out, preventing him from changing his mind and finding a way out. The best well-known and accepted method in terminally ill or sincere "want-to-die" candidates is to use a gas, such as ] or ]. | |||
| == Drug overdosing == | |||
| Suicide by pharmaceuticals ("]") is a method which involves taking ] in doses of several times greater than the indicated levels, or in a combination which will enhance each drug's effect. Due to the unpredictability of dosing requirements, death is uncertain, and an attempt may leave a person alive but with severe ] damage (which may prove eventually fatal itself). Drugs taken orally may also be ] back out before being absorbed. | |||
| ] overdoses are among the most common<ref> {{cite journal |last =Brock |first =Anita |coauthors = Sini Dominy, Clare Griffiths |date= 6th |year = 2003 |month = Nov |title = Trends in suicide by method in England and Wales, 1979 to 2001 |journal = Health Statistics Quarterly |volume = 20 |pages = 7-18 |issn = 1465-1645 |url = http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/article.asp?ID=1538&Pos=4&ColRank=1&Rank=176 |accessdate = 2007-06-25 }}</ref> due to easy availability of ]s. Overdosing may also be performed by mixing medications in a cocktail with one another or with alcohol or illegal drugs. | |||
| This method may leave confusion over whether the death was a suicide or accidental, especially when alcohol or other judgment-impairing substances are also involved. | |||
| == Electrocuting == | |||
| Suicide by electrocution involves using a lethal ] to kill oneself. A high enough ] can overcome the high ] of the skin and pass a sizable ] through the body. A large ] through the body can seriously disrupt ]s and can cause the ] to go into ]. | |||
| ==Explosives== | |||
| Suicide by ] involves putting explosives in bodily orifices or otherwise setting off explosives in near proximity. A sufficient quantity of explosive would cause death almost instantaneously by blowing the body into so many pieces that life would end instantly. Shattered organs, broken bones, internal bleeding from the ] and burning would be the causes of death in other cases. | |||
| == Hanging == | |||
| {{main|Hanging}} | |||
| ].]] | |||
| The traditional death penalty of hanging by ] consists of a rope tied to some fixed object (i.e. the gallows), with one end tied into a ] and put around the neck. The person falls through the release of a trap door (or jumps, in the case of suicide) from a height, and death is instantaneous due to breaking of the neck. If the neck is not broken, ] due to the obstructed ] may cause loss of consciousness and ultimately lead to death. Many people who attempt to hang themselves strangle themselves instead, with risk of brain damage from lack of oxygen if the attempt does not result in death. However, hanging is still the suicide method with the highest success rate{{Fact|date=November 2007}}. | |||
| == Vehicular impact == | |||
| Jumping in front of a fast-moving vehicle, especially a large one, such as a truck or train, can prove fatal. A classic example of suicide involves one tying himself to railroad tracks in order to be run over by an oncoming train. The self control required to stay on the tracks as the train approaches can be quite immense, and the result quite traumatizing to the driver of the train. Suicide is also sometimes attempted by driving a motor vehicle into a wall or other sturdy object at high speeds. | |||
| == Jumping == | |||
| {{see also|Defenestration}} | |||
| Jumping from a great height can shatter organs and tissues. If a person jumps from a tall bridge into water, the person may die by impact rather than by drowning. Such jumpings off the ], of which there have been 1,300 between 1937 and 2006, were depicted in the documentary film '']''. | |||
| The 68.6-meter (225 ft) plunge from the Golden Gate Bridge has proven to be fatal in 98% of cases. The jumper would hit the water at 120 km/h (about 77 mph). Most die of internal bleeding due to broken ribs which pierce the heart, lungs, liver or spleen. Survivors, who generally have hit the water feet-first, have often had their ]s shattered.<ref>"The bridge of suicide", Catherine Philip, '']'', ], ].</ref> | |||
| Authorities have tried to prevent jumping suicides by building fences or other barriers in potential areas, such as high towers and bridges. In some areas authorities have also installed telephones which link directly to suicide prevention hot lines. | |||
| == Poisoning == | |||
| Suicide can be committed by using fast-acting ], or substances which are known for their high levels of ] to humans. For example, the people of ], in northwestern ], all died when the leader of a ] organised a ] by drinking a cocktail of ] and ] in ].<ref>, Elissayelle Haney, Infoplease, 2006.</ref> ] bit into a cyanide capsule while simultaneously shooting himself in the head with a ]. Sufficient doses of some plants like the belladonna family, castor beans, and others, are also toxic. | |||
| == Self-immolation == | |||
| <!-- Commented out because image was deleted: ] pictured during his self-immolation.|{{deletable image-caption|1=Thursday, 13 December 2007}}]] --> | |||
| Simply put, ] is suicide by immolation (fire). It has been used as a protest tactic. | |||
| == Seppuku == | |||
| {{main|Seppuku}} | |||
| Seppuku (colloquially "harakiri") is a ]ese ] method of suicide, practiced mostly in the ], though some isolated cases appear in modern times. For example, ] committed seppuku in ] after a failed ] intended to restore full power to the ]. | |||
| Unlike other methods of suicide, this was regarded as a way of preserving one's honor. The ritual is part of ], the code of the ]. | |||
| Dressed ceremonially, with his ] placed in front of him and sometimes seated on special cloth, the ] would prepare for death by writing a ]. With a selected attendant (], his second) standing by, he would open his ], take up his ] (short sword), ], or a ] (knife) and plunge it into his ], making first a left-to-right cut and then a second slightly upward stroke. On the second stroke, the kaishakunin would perform ], when the warrior is all but ], leaving a slight band of flesh attaching the ] to the ], so as to not let the head fall off the body and roll on the floor/ground; which was considered dishonorable in feudal Japan. | |||
| == Shooting == | |||
| Shooting oneself is one of the most common ways of suicide. It almost always involves shooting oneself in the head, either putting the gun in one's mouth or to the side of the head. A successful shot to the brain results in instant, painless death. It mostly involves handguns, since the difficulty of reaching the trigger of a rifle or a shotgun is much greater than that of a handgun. | |||
| == Suicide attack == | |||
| {{main|Suicide attack}} | |||
| The term "suicide attack" is somewhat of a misnomer, as the psychological motivation is not chiefly hatred of the self but of others. | |||
| A suicide attack is an attack in which the attacker (''attacker'' being either an individual or a group) intends to kill others and intends to die in the process of doing so. In a suicide attack in the strict sense the attacker dies by the attack itself, for example in an explosion or crash caused by the attacker. The term is sometimes loosely applied to an incident in which the intention of the attacker is not clear though he is almost sure to die by the defense or retaliation of the attacked party. | |||
| Such attacks are typically motivated by religious or political ideologies and have been carried out using numerous methods. For example, attackers might attach explosives directly to their bodies before detonating themselves close to their target, or they may use ]s or other machinery to cause maximum damage (e.g. Japanese ] pilots during ]). Some sources refer to this as a "] attack", to emphasize the idea that killing other people is usually the primary purpose of such an attack{{Fact|date=July 2007}}. However, this usage is ambiguous since the word "homicide" already refers to unlawful killing and the key aspect of a suicide attack that distinguishes it from other forms of homicide is the death of the perpetrator. | |||
| ] have engaged in suicide attacks numerous times in the ], and also against the West at other times. Perpetrators believe that the gains to others, or to a religious, political or moral cause, outweigh their personal loss and/or that they will be rewarded in the ]. | |||
| The ] by ] using civilian aircraft on the ] and ] are examples of suicide attacks.<br /> | |||
| Additionally, teenaged students (generally in America and Scandinavia) have committed several notable suicide attacks in recent years, in the form of school shooting massacres. These students are usually males that have been bullied by other students or are considered "loners". Often, these suicide attacks involve guns or homemade bombs brought into high schools or college campuses with the intention of indescriminately killing fellow classmates and faculty. After the attack, the perpetrator will committ suicide before being captured by police. One such attack was the ] on April 20, 1999 in Littleton, Colorado. | |||
| == Suicide by cop== | |||
| {{main|Suicide by cop}} | |||
| The term "suicide by cop" is used to describe a situation in which an individual behaves in a manner intended to provoke an armed ] into use of lethal force against them. Common methods used involve charging at officers with a weapon (or even anything that closely resembles a weapon at a distance, such as a toy gun), repeatedly refusing lawful orders in threatening situations, or driving a vehicle at officers. | |||
| To prevent suicide by cop, some officers are trained to determine whether the suspect is truly dangerous, or have resorted to less-lethal methods, such as ]. | |||
| ==Further reading== | |||
| * ]. '']''. Dell. 1997. | |||
| * Stone, Geo. ''''. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2001. ISBN 0-7867-0940-5 | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| * - list of books on suicide methods by ], author of ''Final Exit'' | |||
| For help, visit: | |||
| * - National Suicide Prevention Lifeline | |||
| If you are in crisis, call 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255). | |||
| == References == | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||