Suicidal thoughts and self-harm

Thoughts of suicide are more common than most people realize. They are a sign of deep pain, not a sign of weakness or a flaw in character. They can happen to anyone, at any age.

The most important thing to know is that these thoughts can pass, and people recover. Help is available right now, any hour of the day. This page explains what suicidal thoughts are, what raises and lowers risk, and where to turn. It also links to our detailed pages on each topic.

What are suicidal thoughts?

Suicidal thoughts are thoughts about ending your own life. Doctors may call them suicidal ideation. They can be brief or last a long time. They can feel calm and distant, or urgent and overwhelming.

It can help to know there are different kinds:

• Passive thoughts are a wish to be dead without a plan to act. A person may think, "I wish I could go to sleep and not wake up," or "Everyone would be better off without me."
• Active thoughts include thinking about acting on that wish, or making a plan.

Passive thoughts are common. A review of 86 studies found that about 6 in 100 people in the general population had them in the past year, and about 1 in 10 at some point in life.⁶ The same review found that passive thoughts share many risk features with active thoughts.⁶ So both kinds deserve care and attention.

Having these thoughts does not mean you will act on them. It means you are carrying more pain than one person should carry alone.

How common is it?

In the United States:

• In 2024, about 5.5% of adults (about 1 in 18) had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year. Rates were highest in young adults ages 18 to 25, at about 1 in 8.²
• About 4.6 million adults made a suicide plan, and about 2.2 million made a suicide attempt.² Most people who had serious thoughts did not make an attempt that year. Every one of them deserves support.
• In 2024, 48,824 people died by suicide. The rate went down slightly from 2023 to 2024, for both men and women.¹
• Men died by suicide about 4 times as often as women. Men age 75 and older had the highest rate of any age group of men.¹

Behind each number is a person, and a circle of family and friends who loved them. Worldwide, more than 720,000 people die by suicide each year. The World Health Organization (WHO) says suicide is preventable, often with simple, low-cost steps.¹¹

Thoughts can pass, and people recover

When you are in deep pain, it can feel like it will never end. Research shows that suicidal feelings change more than people expect. In one study, people rated their suicidal thoughts several times a day. For nearly everyone, the strength of these thoughts swung up and down a lot within just a few hours.⁷

This means a crisis is often a peak, not a permanent state. Getting through the next few hours, with someone beside you, matters a great deal.

People also recover after a suicide attempt. A review of 90 studies followed people treated at a hospital for self-harm or a suicide attempt. Even 9 or more years later, about 93 in 100 had not died by suicide.⁸ Many people who once felt hopeless go on to find relief, connection and meaning.

Recovery often happens in steps. First comes getting safe through a crisis. Then comes treating what is underneath, such as depression, substance use, pain or trauma. Over time, people build a life with more support and more reasons to live.

What raises risk, and what protects

There is no single cause of suicide. It is rarely caused by one event.³ Instead, risk factors build up over time, and protective factors push back against them.

These lists come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).³ Risk factors are not destiny. Many people with several risk factors never think about suicide. And protective factors can be built at any age.

Warning signs

Warning signs are changes that suggest someone may be thinking about suicide now. They include:⁴

• Talking about wanting to die, feeling great guilt or shame, or being a burden to others
• Feeling empty, hopeless, trapped, or having no reason to live
• Feeling unbearable emotional or physical pain
• Making a plan, or looking for ways to die
• Pulling away from people, saying goodbye, or giving away important things
• Drinking or using drugs more, taking dangerous risks, or having big mood swings
• Sleeping or eating much more or much less

Signs are most urgent when they are new or getting worse.⁴ Read more in Warning signs of suicide.

How to get help now

Some people worry that calling 988 will bring the police. Less than 2 in 100 calls to 988 involve emergency services. More than half of those happen with the caller's agreement.¹²

While you wait for help, you can also tell someone you trust, move away from anything you could use to hurt yourself, and go to a place where you are not alone. A written safety plan lists your own steps for hard moments. Our Get help now page lists more crisis services. If these thoughts are part of your life right now, start with If you are thinking about suicide.

What helps

Several approaches lower the risk of suicide. They work best together. The badges show how strong the research is (see how we rate evidence).

Check in with yourself

Our free, private self-check, WhySigh MindCheck, includes questions about mood, suicidal thoughts and self-harm. It can help you put your feelings into words and decide on next steps. It is not a crisis service. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.

All pages in this topic

• Warning signs of suicide
• If you are thinking about suicide
• Self-harm
• Treatment to lower suicide risk
• Helping someone who may be thinking about suicide
• After a suicide attempt
• Suicide risk in later life
• Grief after a suicide loss

Related: When you are worried about suicide (for caregivers), Depression, Grief, Loneliness and our suicide myths and facts quiz.

Explore suicide and self-harm

Education only. This page is general information written from the sources listed. It is not medical, legal or financial advice and does not replace a doctor, therapist or lawyer who knows your situation. How we write and check pages.