You Are Not Alone

Break the Stigma. Break the Silence.

You Are Not Alone–

If You’ve Lost A Child to Suicide

Bright red and orange leaves in the fall fill the screen. The colorful leaves are still on a few scattered thin tree branches, and the photograph is a beautiful close-up of spectacular fall foilage.
“I Want to Believe: Remembering and Healing After the Loss of My Son to Suicide,” My Forever Son

Staggering Statistics about Suicide in the United States

Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States in 2018. Suicide was responsible for more than 48,000 deaths in 2018, resulting in about one death every 11 minutes.

On average, 132 Americans died by suicide each day.

1.4 million Americans attempted suicide.

90% of those who died by suicide had a diagnosable mental health condition at the time of their death.

These are staggering statistics. Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. And these statistics are from 2018. Much has happened since: A global pandemic, especially, forcing isolation in a world where life is lived connected. Mental illness rates have increased as have suicide statistics, but the Center for Disease Control collects data in retrospect, culling numbers from the previous year. We will not know the fallout from 2020 until at least next year.

Additional facts about suicide in the United States

The age-adjusted suicide rate in 2018 was 14.2 per 100,000 individuals.

The rate of suicide is highest in middle-aged white men.

In 2018, men died by suicide 3.56x more often than women.

On average, there are 132 suicides per day.

White males accounted for 69.67% of suicide deaths in 2018.

In 2018, firearms accounted for 50.57% of all suicide deaths.

artistic rendering of a shattered red heart, cracked open in half with the appearance of 3D. The heart fills the image, with a brown and gold background suggesting earth and a striking sense of forlorn, barren, and broken emptiness upon which the heart rests. The cracks in the heart are black and the red in the heart is muted to reflect being shattered. beautiful artist's painting. the caption says: "Suicide Breaks Hearts, My Forever Son" and contains a hyperlink to a poem about losing a child a suicide, "If Earth Were Sky (and sky above)
Suicide Breaks Hearts, My Forever Son

Over 950,000 years of potential life were lost to suicide before age 65.

Firearms accounted for slightly more than half (50.54%) of all suicide deaths.

Suicide deaths and attempts cost $69 billion in combined work-loss and medical cost in 2015.

10.3% of Americans have thought about suicide

54% of Americans have been affected by suicide

Men died by suicide 3.6x more often than women. Women were 1.4x more likely to attempt suicide.

48,344 Americans died by suicide.

Second (2nd) leading cause of death for ages 10-34

Fourth (4th) leading cause of death for ages 35-54

In 2017, the suicide rate was 1.5x higher for Veterans than for non-Veteran adults over the age of 18.

Read more at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. All facts and statistics information provided by the CDC, 2018 Fatal Injury Reports (accessed from www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal.html on 3/1/20). Find additional citation information at afsp.org/statistics.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, “suicide rates have increased by 30% since 1999. Nearly 45,000 lives were lost to suicide in 2016 alone. Comments or thoughts about suicide — also known as suicidal ideation — can begin small like, “I wish I wasn’t here” or “Nothing matters.” But over time, they can become more explicit and dangerous.”

NAMI, National Alliance for Mental Illness

Read more about how I’ve coped, grieved, and found my way back to life after losing my son to suicide at My Forever Son

Photograph of a dragonfly stoneware mug with hot tea, plus a writer's journal with a raised bronze colored dragonfly against a swirled amber sketched background.stack of books about suicide resting on the top right corner of the dragonfly journal. base of a brass desk lamp and a spider plant in the far left corner, plus an aloe plant behind the spider plant. mug, light, books, journal, and plant sit on a wood writer's desk. Dragonfly mug is resting on a yellow glass stained coaster.

My Forever Son: Chronicling Grief, Hope, and Healing


more than 47,000 deaths in 2017, resulting in about one death every 11 minutes. Every year, many more people think about or attempt suicide than die by suicide. In 2017, 10.6 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.2 million made a plan, and 1.4 million attempted suicide.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK

Need Help? Know Someone Who Does?

Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or use the online Lifeline Crisis Chat
Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline


Hold onto Hope

a brown glass vase with pink flowers against a brick wall on a ledge with a photoof an amaryllis beside it
Hold Onto Hope, How to Survive the Death of a Child By Suicide: Support, Resources, and Hope, My Forever Son

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