Why do people suffocate themselves

Suicide risk appears to be elevated in medical practitioners. We compare methods with those used by the general population, and, within doctors, according to gender, working status, speciality and time period.

The Office for Population Censuses and Surveys now Office for National Statistics supplied us with death entries for all deaths in England and Wales, between and , of individuals resident in the UK whose occupation was recorded as medical practitioner or equivalent, e.

The open verdicts were included because there is ample evidence that the majority of these are suicides. The death entries included information on gender, age, date of death, and method of suicide including ICD9 E code.

In order to compare methods used for suicide by doctors with those in the general population we obtained data on all deaths in England and Wales in the suicide and open verdict categories for males and females between and from the Office for National Statistics.

This was in order to focus particularly on patterns and differences during the period of working life of doctors. We were notified of the deaths of individuals. We identified the working status working vs. If we were unable to obtain information about working status, we made an assumption that all males under 65 years of age and all females under 60 years of age were working.

A total of 86 doctors were retired and were working. We have restricted analyses by speciality to those who were working. Suicides in doctors in England and Wales: demographic characteristics and method of death by gender. The most notable difference was that poisoning by drugs was far more common among the doctors OR 3. Cutting and piercing were also significantly more common in the doctors OR 3. On the other hand, several methods were less frequent in the doctors.

These included, in males only, hanging and suffocation OR 0. For both genders, fewer doctors died by drowning OR 0. A paracetamol and dextropropoxyphene combination Distalgesic, Coproxamol was involved in 15 of the 31 cases in which analgesics excluding anaesthetic agents were used. There were no other statistically significant differences for specific categories of drugs, although larger proportions of female doctors used analgesics or antidepressants.

The total exceeds the number of individuals, because several doctors used more than one substance. The use of opiates had increased in the most recent period 9. No other speciality associations were found. Marked differences were found in the methods used for suicide by doctors and those used by the general population.

In particular, a greater proportion of doctors died from overdoses. A similar finding has been reported from other countries. The first is the ready availability of medicinal drugs to most working doctors. The second is the specific knowledge doctors have about the dangers of drugs, and hence which drugs and what doses are most likely to cause death. It also seems likely, but cannot be proven from our findings, that these factors contribute to the relatively high risk of suicide in doctors.

Certainly, availability of a dangerous method appears to be an important contribution to suicide risk in general, for example in circumstances in which guns are readily available.

Of the methods used less often in doctors' suicides compared to suicides in the general population hanging, strangulation and suffocation, gas, including carbon monoxide, drowning, jumping from a height , all would have been equally available to both groups except perhaps cars, which would be owned by nearly all doctors. On the other hand it might be argued that doctors would have greater knowledge of how to ensure death by cutting and that this might explain why more doctors used this method, although the numbers involved were relatively small.

This may also explain the similarly frequent use of the dangerous paracetamol and dextropropoxyphene analgesic combination. Junior Seau Alexander McQueen Hunter S. Thompson Kurt Cobain Sylvia Plath Ernest Hemingway Alan Turing Virginia Woolf Vincent van Gogh Nembutal was once commonly used to treat insomnia. It's not available over the counter in the United States anymore, but the FDA-approved human uses include treatment of seizures and as a short-term hypnotic.

And veterinarians use it as an anaesthetic and to euthanize sick animals. Marilyn Monroe and others died from Nembutal overdoses. The drug is, however, available in Mexican pet stores over the counter. Nitschke has accompanied terminally ill patients on trips to buy it.

Nitschke was the first doctor in the modern world to legally kill his patients. In , Australia's Northern Territory, his home state, legalized doctor-assisted suicide. In all, Nitschke helped four people die before the law was overturned. Nitschke says he never questions what he is doing in light of the judgment of others or the biblical prohibition against killing. Now that the practice is illegal in his home state, Nitschke has hit the worldwide lecture circuit -- he's due to conduct workshops in the United States in November -- providing suicide tips and campaigning for the right to die.

And only the terminally ill qualify in most of those places. Although risk factors for suicide are important to keep in mind, someone who is showing warning signs of suicide may be at higher risk for danger and need immediate attention.

Stressful life events such as the loss of a loved one, legal troubles, or financial difficulties and interpersonal stressors such as shame, harassment, bullying, discrimination, or relationship troubles may contribute to suicide risk, especially when they occur along with suicide risk factors.

Studies have shown that asking people about suicidal thoughts and behaviors does not cause or increase such thoughts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC , women are more likely to attempt suicide than men, but men are more likely to die by suicide than women. This may be because men are more likely to attempt suicide using very lethal methods, such as firearm or suffocation e. However, recent CDC data suggest that the leading means of suicide for women may be shifting toward more lethal methods.

CDC data also show that suicide rates vary by race, ethnicity, age, and gender. American Indian and Alaska Native men have the highest rates of suicide, followed by non-Hispanic White males.

Although the rate of suicide death among preteens and younger teens is lower than that of older adolescents and adults, it has increased over time. Suicide now ranks as the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10 to For children under age 12, research indicates that Black children have a higher rate of suicide death than White children.

NOTE: After steadily increasing for many years, the overall suicide rate decreased slightly from to You can learn more about this finding on the CDC website. Researchers are examining whether this decrease occurred across different racial, ethnic, gender, and age groups, and whether it will continue over time.

Looking for more data and statistics? For the most recent statistics on suicide and more information about suicide risk, please visit the CDC suicide prevention page and the NIMH suicide statistics page. Suicidal thoughts or actions are a sign of extreme distress and an indicator that someone needs help. Talking about wanting to die by suicide is not a typical response to stress.

All talk of suicide should be taken seriously and requires immediate attention. Effective, evidence-based interventions are available to help people who are at risk for suicide:.