Suicide Risk Factors and Signs

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Too often, reporters cover suicide the same way they cover a crime.

Suicide should be covered as a public health issue with rates, treatment options, and resources.

Everyone should know and follow media guidelines of the American Association of Suicidology.

In this age of social media, few things remain secret for long. Moreover, humans have a predilection for gossip that often results in misleading and factually incorrect information being disseminated rapidly, widely, and indiscriminately. People have a responsibility to verify the accuracy of anything they tweet, post, or blog about before doing it. They also have a responsibility to consider the effect of their words on others.

In this regard, everyone would do well to follow the recommendations of the American Association of Suicidology to mainstream media when reporting on suicides:

Avoid sensationalistic headlines or subject lines.

Avoid using graphic photos or videos.

Avoid explicit descriptions of how someone died.

Avoid simplistic explanations for the death.

Instead of the headline, “Kurt Cobain Kills Himself with Shotgun,” for instance, news reports can say “Kurt Cobain Dead at Age 27.” Instead of photographing........

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