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Why do I feel suicidal?

Suicidal feelings can affect anyone, of any age, gender or background, at any time.

If you are feeling suicidal it is likely that you have felt increasingly hopeless and worthless for some time. You may not know what has caused you to feel this way but it is often a combination of factors.

Common causes of suicidal feelings

Struggling to cope with certain difficulties in your life can cause you to feel suicidal. These difficulties may include:

• Mental health problems
• Bullying, prejudice or stigma, such as relating to your race, gender, disability or sexual identity
• Different types of abuse, including domestic, sexual or physical abuse
• Bereavement, including losing a loved one to suicide
• The end of a relationship
• Long-term physical pain or illness
• Adjusting to a big change, such as retirement or redundancy
• Money problems 
• Housing problems, including homelessness
• Isolation or loneliness
• Being in prison
• Feeling inadequate or a failure
• Addiction or substance abuse
• Pregnancy, childbirth or postnatal depression
• Doubts about your sexual or gender identity
• Cultural pressure, such as forced marriage
• Society’s expectations, for example to act a certain way or achieve certain things
• Other forms of trauma

If you are unsure of why you feel suicidal, you may find it even harder to believe that there could be a solution. But whatever the reason, there is support available to help you cope and overcome these feelings.

Can medication cause suicidal feelings?

Some medications, such as antidepressants, can cause some people to experience suicidal feelings. This side effect is often associated with a type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). But all antidepressants have this as a possible risk.

Some research shows that young people under the age of 25 are more likely to experience suicidal feelings when taking these medications. 

Some antipsychotic medications and mood stabilisers also cause some people to experience suicidal feelings.

If you experience suicidal feelings while taking psychiatric medication, you should talk to your GP as soon as possible about this.

Feeling suicidal

Suicide is the act of intentionally taking your own life.

Suicidal feelings can mean having abstract thoughts about ending your life or feeling that people would be better off without you. Or it can mean thinking about methods of suicide or making clear plans to take your own life.

If you are feeling suicidal, you might be scared or confused by these feelings. You may find the feelings overwhelming. 

But you are not alone. Many people think about suicide at some point in their lifetime.

What does it feel like to be suicidal?

Different people have different experiences of suicidal feelings. You might feel unable to cope with the difficult feelings you are experiencing. You may feel less like you want to die and more like you cannot go on living the life you have.

These feelings may build over time or might change from moment to moment. And it’s common to not understand why you feel this way.

How you might think or feel

• hopeless, like there is no point in living
• tearful and overwhelmed by negative thoughts
• unbearable pain that you can’t imagine ending
• useless, not wanted or not needed by others
• desperate, as if you have no other choice
• like everyone would be better off without you
• cut off from your body or physically numb
• fascinated by death. 

What you may experience

• poor sleep, including waking up earlier than you want to
• a change in appetite, weight gain or loss
• no desire to take care of yourself, for example neglecting your physical appearance
• wanting to avoid others
• making a will or giving away possessions
• struggling to communicate
• self-loathing and low self-esteem
• urges to self-harm.

How long will I feel suicidal?

How long suicidal feelings last is different for everyone. It is common to feel as if you’ll never be happy or hopeful again.

But with treatment and support, including self-care, the majority of people who have felt suicidal go on to live fulfilling lives.

The earlier you let someone know how you’re feeling, the quicker you’ll be able to get support to overcome these feelings. But it can feel difficult to open up to people.

You may want others to understand what you’re going through, but you might feel:

• unable to tell someone
• unsure of who to tell
• concerned that they won’t understand
• fearful of being judged
• worried you’ll upset them.

If you feel like this, you might find it helpful to show our pages on supporting someone else with suicidal feelings to someone you trust. This can be a good way of starting the conversation and can give them suggestions of how they can help you.

It’s important to remember that you deserve support, you are not alone and there is support out there.

Mind.org