Suicide Prevention Awareness Month - September

Suicide Prevention Awareness Image

** If you are in immediate danger of harming yourself, please call 988 (in the U.S.) or your local emergency number right away. **

Note from the author: Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge this incredibly important topic. You may be helping to save a life. I have written this in hopes of reaching someone in need; even if just one person. Or perhaps reaching someone who knows someone in need. I write this for all of you, because you are important.

I have created a series of articles around this topic. This is the first. Additional articles include:

• Suicide Warning Signs and Risk Factors

• Suicide - Getting Help for Yourself and Others

This article will discuss:

• September Is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

• Why Suicide Awareness and Prevention Matter (the statistics)

An Important Note About Discussing Suicide With Children (and others)…

Before we dive into this topic, I want to clarify an extremely important point that many have strong opinions about without knowing the research. That is the concern that discussing suicide with someone, especially children, increases the likelihood of a suicide attempt occurring. The research shows that this is not the case. Research has consistently showed that asking about or discussing suicide does not increase suicidal thoughts or behaviors. In fact, it often reduces distress, increases feelings of being understood, and encourages help-seeking.

I’m instantly reminded of a conversation I had with a mother I know who was extremely frustrated by the fact that when taking her child to the pediatrician, she saw flyers on the television in the waiting room that mentioned the importance of discussing suicide and suicidal ideation with your children. Her anger stemmed from the assumption that this was planting the thought of suicide into her child’s mind.

Gould et al., (2005) found that openly and compassionately asking youth about suicide does not increase distress or suicidal ideation. In fact, systematic review of the topic has shown that asking about suicide is safe and can in fact be beneficial (Dazzi et al., 2014).

The research also holds true for adolescents and adult, that asking adults about suicide is also safe, and can be beneficial (Blades et al., 2018). So just to reiterate, talking about suicide, whether with children, teens, adults, or older adults, does not cause harm and may actually open the door to life-saving conversations.

September Is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

The month of September is designated both nationally in the U.S., and globally, for suicide prevention awareness, including the World Suicide Prevention Day observed on September 10th every year (World Health Organization, n.d.). The purpose of this recognition is to raise awareness around the topic of suicide - a health crisis that is drastically increasing in statistics at alarming rates. The month helps to reduce the stigma around discussing suicide which is still very prevalent in many communities and cultures Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], n.d.). It also helps to promote help-seeking, and increase access to resources.

But let’s please not only discuss this in the month of September. This needs to be an ongoing and frequent conversation that is had anytime it’s needed. The more we discuss this topic and build comfort around doing so, the greater impact we can have on others. Often times people don’t know about the topic and resources until it’s too late, wishing someone had brought this up to them sooner. So let's all do our part and spread the word.

Why Suicide Awareness and Prevention Matter (the startling statistics…)

In 2023, there were 49,266 suicide deaths among individuals aged 12 and older in the U.S. alone (CDC, 2024). That’s about 1 person taking their own life very 10.7 minutes. And these are just the deaths that are categorized as suicide. There are many that are not categorized as suicide for a variety of reasons, such as the stigma and the sensitivity of the cause of death. Some families, communities, and sometimes even officials may prefer to classify the death as an accident (e.g., a car crash, overdose, or fall) because suicide can carry cultural, religious, legal, and insurance-related consequences (Tøllefsen et al., 2012).

For every suicide death, there are many more who seriously consider suicide, attempt but fail, or engage in self harming behavior. For example, in 2023, for every 1 death by suicide, there were about 325 people who seriously considered attempting suicide themselves, and about 48 attempts that failed (CDC, 2025).

There is also a social and economic toll from the emotional impact and cost to families and communities, to health care costs. The CDC estimates over $500 billion USD in costs for suicide and non-fatal self-harm in 2020 in the U.S. (CDC, 2025).

Certain age groups, such as adolescents and young adults, and certain demographics have higher incidence rates, underscoring the importance of early intervention. Lets take a look at these startling rates..

Child Adolescent and Young Adult Statistics (10-24)

Children 10-14

Many of you may still be stuck on the fact that I provided a statistic that includes the young age of 12. Even more alarming, for children ages 10-14, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.). No, that’s not a typo or mistake. For this age group, suicide rates for children have nearly tripled between 2007 and 2017 (Curtin, 2020) indicating an alarming crisis. In 2022, the suicide rate among children ages 10-14 dropped slightly to 2.3 per 100,000, although it remains much higher than in earlier decades (Camera, 2023).

In my graduate Child-Focused Family Therapy class I first came across these numbers, and they affected me deeply, as I imagine they do for you too.

Adolescents (15-19)

Among adolescents 15-19, suicide rates have been higher than in the 10-14 group, with younger adolescents increasing somewhat in risk over time. For example, in 2017 the suicide rate for ages 15-19 was about 11.8 per 100,000 (Ruch et al., 2019). In 2023, 39.7% of U.S. high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 28.5% experienced poor mental health, 20.4% seriously considered attempting suicide, and 9.5% had attempted suicide.

To put that into context, 1 out of very 5 high school kids seriously considered suicide, and nearly 1 out of every 10 high school students had attempted suicide. It was also the third leading cause of death for young adults aged 15-24 (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2023).

Overall, youth aged 10-24 had a suicide rate of about 11 per 100,000 in 2021, which is up considerably approximately 62% from 2007 when the rate was 6.8 per 100,000 (Curtin, 2023).

Adults (18 and older)

In 2023, 5% of U.S. adults aged 18 and older reported suicidal thoughts in the past year. Prevalence was the highest among young adults ages 18-25 at 12.2% (NIMH, 2023). Also in 2023, about 1.5 million U.S. adults, 0.6%, attempted suicide in the past year (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention [AFSP], 2024). Among those attempting suicide, rates are highest for younger adults aged 18-25, at 2% attempting in the past year.

For ages 26-49, the rate was .6%, and for ages 50+, .2% (SAMHSA, 2024). Suicidal ideation [suicidal thoughts] among adults increased from 4% in 2015 to 4.9% in 2019 (Pew Charitable Trust, 2024).

For oldest adults, the suicide rate for men increases largely every 10 years from 65+, where as for women, the rate decreases every 10 years from ages 55+. Here is a breakdown of those numbers:

Men 55+:

• Ages 55–64: 26.6 per 100,000

• Ages 65–74: 26.1 per 100,000

• Ages 75–84: 38.2 per 100,000

• Ages     85+: 55.7 per 100,000

Women 55+:

• Ages 55–64: 7.8 per 100,000

• Ages 65–74: 5.6 per 100,000

• Ages 75–84: 4.8 per 100,000

• Ages    85+: 3.3 per 100,000 (CDC, 2023)

These numbers highlight the seriousness of the issue across all age groups. Suicide is a national health crisis, and it needs our attention. These are children, parents, siblings, friends, coworkers, family members; fellow human beings in pain. Please help spread the word.

Further Reading

Here are some additional articles I have posted that follow this information that continue this topic for further reading:

• Suicide Warning Signs and Risk Factors

• Suicide - Getting Help for Yourself and Others

References

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2023, February 13). Suicide is leading cause of death for children ages 10-14. https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2023/suicide-is-leading-cause-of-death-for-children-ages-10-14/

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. (2024). Suicide statistics. https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics/

Blades, C. A., Stritzke, W. G., Page, A. C., & Brown, J. D. (2018). The benefits and risks of asking research participants about suicide: A meta-analysis of the impact of exposure to suicide-related content. Psychological Medicine, 48(12), 1799–1815. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291718000456

Camera, L. (2023, June 12). Suicide rate among young teens dropped in 2022, CDC says. U.S. News & World Report. https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-06-12/suicide-rate-among-young-teens-dropped-in-2022-cdc-says

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Suicide mortality by age group: United States, 2021. National Vital Statistics System. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/mortality-dashboard.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Suicide data and statistics. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/data/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, February 15). Suicide prevention: Fast facts. https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html

Curtin, S. C. (2020). Suicide rates among persons aged 10–24: United States, 2000–2017 (NCHS Data Brief No. 352). National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db352.htm

Curtin, S. C. (2023). Trends in suicide rates, 2001–2021 (NCHS Data Brief No. 464). National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db464.htm

Dazzi, T., Gribble, R., Wessely, S., & Fear, N. T. (2014). Does asking about suicide and related behaviours induce suicidal ideation? What is the evidence? Psychological Medicine, 44(16), 3361–3363. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291714001299

Gould, M. S., Marrocco, F. A., Kleinman, M., Thomas, J. G., Mostkoff, K., Cote, J., & Davies, M. (2005). Evaluating iatrogenic risk of youth suicide screening programs: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 293(13), 1635–1643. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.293.13.1635

National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Suicide. National Institutes of Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide

Pew Charitable Trusts. (2024, March 4). Suicidal thoughts, attempts, and behaviors are on the rise in U.S. adults. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2024/03/suicidal-thoughts-attempts-and-behaviors-are-on-the-rise-in-us-adults

Ruch, D. A., Sheftall, A. H., Schlagbaum, P., Rausch, J., & Bridge, J. A. (2019). Trends in suicide among youth aged 10 to 19 years in the United States, 1975 to 2016. JAMA Network Open, 2(5), e193886. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.3886

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2024). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. PEP24-07-01-001, NSDUH Series H-59). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2022-nsduh-annual-national-report

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (n.d.). Suicide prevention. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.samhsa.gov/suicide

Tøllefsen, I. M., Hem, E., & Ekeberg, Ø. (2012). The reliability of suicide statistics: A systematic review. BMC Psychiatry, 12, 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-12-9

World Health Organization. (n.d.). World Suicide Prevention Day. https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-suicide-prevention-day