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Key points
- Family members who believe a loved one is at immediate risk of suicide should call 9-1-1 or a mobile crisis team.
- Families must clearly articulate the threat loved ones pose to themselves to meet the legal standard for possible involuntarily hospitalization.
- Family members uncertain about the level of risk shouldn’t fear asking their loved ones directly about thoughts and plans of suicide.
Tragically, early 2022 has been marked by several high-profile suicides. Actors Regina King and Michael Madsen each lost adult-age sons. Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst and Australian Olympic skier Brittany George took their own lives. And actor Moses J. Moseley died in what police consider a suspected suicide.
The individuals lost were between the ages of 24 and 31 years, an age group that has seen an increased risk of suicide. According to data from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, suicides increased among all age groups between 2009 and 2018, but, in recent years, rates of suicide between those aged 25 to 44 have surpassed adults aged 65 years and older, who were previously considered more high risk.
For some, the pandemic made the situation more dire. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report conducted in June 2020 showed that one in four people aged 18 to 24 had seriously considered suicide in the last 30 days. And while overall suicide rates have actually declined since COVID-19, this trend didn’t hold true for younger people: CDC data showed rates of suicide increased by 5 percent among those ages 25 to 34 years in 2021.
Factors Influencing Young Adults' Risk
Many factors have long made young adults high risk for suicide. Even before the pandemic, they experienced high rates of depression and anxiety—a trend that continued even when COVID-19 cases declined. Those who suffer from serious mental illnesses typically see them first manifest between the ages of 18 and 24. What’s more, the freedoms, pressures, and temptations of early adulthood have been known to exacerbate a range of mental health conditions, and prolonged COVID-19–induced periods of isolation and heightened stress have undoubtedly played a more recent contributing role.
This combination of factors stokes understandable feelings of dread and alarm among family members who have reason to believe their loved one is at risk. Such families should understand that suicide is often an impulsive act, meaning if they have the ability to intercede at the appropriate time, they can often help save a life.
What Families Can Do
Perhaps most crucially, family members should understand what to do in times of crisis. For example, they might have observed that a loved one is extremely depressed and isolated, consuming reading and visual materials about incidents of people who killed themselves, heavily using drugs and/or alcohol, and seeking access to firearms and other weapons. These are all red-flag behaviors and could necessitate an emergency call to either 9-1-1 or a local mental health crisis team, especially if the person in question has already declined voluntary help.
However, family members must be able to articulate the threat the person is posing to themself in order for emergency responders to take action. As a mental health attorney, I regularly have families write down concrete language to keep on hand. Key phrases can include: “He’s threatening to kill himself”; “She has a suicide plan”; and “He’s not taking his prescribed medication for a diagnosed mental illness.”
Such language will hopefully trigger emergency responders to involuntarily hospitalize the at-risk individual—a distinctly short-term measure that will serve to keep them safe temporarily. At this point, I urge families to put in place a range of safeguards, such as outpatient treatment and case management, using whatever leverage they have to encourage participation and compliance.
Of course, it can be challenging for family members to understand when such a serious course of action is warranted. People who suffer from conditions like depression can cause their families to worry for years, and both at-risk and emotionally healthy young adults often use alcohol and drugs recreationally. When offering counsel on how to gauge suicide risk, I often encourage family members to ask their loved ones directly about whether they’re seriously contemplating killing themselves and seek honest answers. Many family members are terrified of broaching this topic, partly out of fear of planting a potentially deadly idea. With guidance, they can usually understand that at-risk loved ones may have had prior thoughts of suicide and that silence around the topic is far more deadly.
Much of the dialogue surrounding suicide prevention is aimed at best ensuring at-risk individuals know that help is available. Offering additional concrete information to their family members about what to do in a crisis situation can also work to help deter these tragic acts.
If you or someone you love is contemplating suicide, seek help immediately. For help 24/7, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK, or the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. To find a therapist near you, see the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.
