Research shows that for every successful suicide, there are ten more people who attempted suicide and for every one of those, there are ten more people who think of killing themselves, but do not.

The one question everyone asks without exception, that they ache to have answered more than any other, is simply, why?

The notion that death is an answer to problems seems far off and unnecessary to many. It’s reduced to the person being selfish and stupid for not asking for help. How serious can it be to contemplate ending your own life?

Is it ever that simple?

According to Psychologist Grace Wesonga, survivors have confessed that it’s not death they were after. Rather, they just didn’t want to live.

Grace says, “I suspect that if some intermediate state existed, like an alternative to death. Many a suicidal people will opt for it.”

ALSO READ: 3 steps to prevent suicide

The death of a loved one by their own hands is an unjustified loss with no source of relief. Suicide makes a victim of everyone including those close to the person. Feelings of guilt, anger and betrayal are just but a few of the damages left behind at the loss of a soul.

So what makes someone suicidal?

Many will tell you that there is no way of justifying suicide. However, it’s not as intuitive as we would like to believe.  Here is an insightful tour in the mind of a suicidal person.

1. Depression and mental disorders

Suicide has been highly associated with clinical depression and other mental disorders. The feeling of hopelessness nurtures the idea that people are better off without them making death look like an easier option than asking for help.

ALSO READ: How to deal with the death of a loved one

2. Some have the desire to die

For some, the decision to self-destruct is motivated by the presence of a painful terminal illness with a chancy or no way of curing. The idea usually is to try and reduce their suffering which they believe will only come to an end on their death bed. Suicide seems like an easier way out than waiting for death to come on its own while in pain.

3. Impulsiveness

This can be related to drug and alcohol abuse where persons under influence become overemotional and impulsively attempt to commit suicide. In their sober state such people have no desire to end their lives and are rather apologetic for their behavior. However, they remain at risk because one cannot be sure if the mood will strike again. Pardon the pun.

4. Psychosis

The worldwide occurrence of schizophrenia is 1% and often strikes otherwise healthy, high performing individuals, whose lives, though manageable with medication, never fulfill their original promise. Malicious inner voices often command self-destruction for unintelligible reasons. Psychosis is much harder to mask than depression and arguably even more tragic.

5. Faked independence

In a society where the need to look all collected and stress free is highly embraced, a lot of people are opting to keep their problems to themselves instead asking for help. In the end, the realization that help is vital has led to a lot of people doing things to attract attention only for them to end up being fatal. An example is of a woman who over dosed on medicine to scare the husband; only, she didn’t make it out of the hospital.

Scars from the loss of a loved one through suicide run deep and often take longer to heal. The need to talk about it and make peace is as important as helping those with suicidal intentions. It’s not an embarrassing secret to keep to yourself.