General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Suicides involving firearms are fatal 85% of the time, pills less than 3%. [View all]Lee-Lee
(6,324 posts)This really is a bit skewed- because most suicides with a gun were people who hell bent on ending their own lives. They did not warn anybody right before (I am talking directly saying "I am going to shoot myself right now", not displaying general warning signs). They just did it.
Same was true for hanging- they just did it.
In contrast most pill overdoses were pleas for attention more than serious attempts at suicide. They were usually done after a phone call to say they were going to do it (almost always to the recent ex or whomever they wanted to lay the guilt trip on) or followed up by a phone call, or done in a way that they would be discovered "in time". And sadly some were staged- flush the pills, lay the bottle out, and act. Usually teenage white girls pulling that one- only to find out the ambulance crews didn't stop treatment for "just kidding".
I can only think of one intentional overdose call where the attempt was not discovered in time to get them to the hospital. The rest were because they wanted to be.
A lot of the statistics here have to do with how serious the person is about actually ending their life- more serious people pick more serious methods. Guns, hanging, jumping etc.