What do you guys think the suicide rate of this forum is?

[petmom]

I like asking stupid questions like this

Ok but actually. Any estimates? Just because why not.

It just occurred to me, and I know this is very obvious that people die all the time on a suicide forum. I just thought that like, if even a fraction of the number of suicides that occur here each each month happened in a town of 60K people (same as number of registered users here) it'd be declared a "state of emergency" and I thought of this as that's what sadly happens in some indigenous communities in Canada

I just want to believe that being here increases my chance of actually ctb-ing since I wish I could just do it already lol. And why not.

If I had to guesstimate I'd say in the single digit percent wise AT LEAST

Usually suicide rates are in per 100k and not per 100/percent

 

[fadedghost]

my guess 1/200 for completed suicide 0.5%, 1/4 attempt 25%

 

[AreWeWinning]

I just want to believe that being here increases my chance of actually ctb-ing since I wish I could just do it already lol. And why not.

It doesn't. You'll probably just end up chatting about it instead of going through with it. That's the paradox of this forum. Sure, there are people who actually do it, but compared to how many people express their desires and plans to end their lives here, the percentage of those who actually go through with it is quite low.

It's definitely a suicide forum, and members die on a regular basis. My point is that you don't know what people would do if they weren't a member of this forum. For some, being a member here actually delays or prevents their suicide. For others, being a member helps them make it happen. I don't think you can draw any conclusions from the suicide rate of the forum. The suicide rate among suicidal people is considerable, but still low in general, regardless of whether someone is a member here or not. The reason is that suicide is very hard to do, and most people are unable to do it.

I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of your post is but that's how I see it.

 

[Forveleth]

I like asking stupid questions like this

Ok but actually. Any estimates? Just because why not.

I just want to believe that being here increases my chance of actually ctb-ing since I wish I could just do it already lol. And why not.

There are people who have been on this site for years. If this site made killing yourself more likely, I highly doubt this would happen. Also, there is an entire Recovery section for people who want to live so not many of those members are much closer to ending their life.

Studies have repeatedly shown discussing suicide dies not increase the risk of it happening and no one here is going to flat out encourage you to kill yourself.

As for your original question, there is no way to know all. We have no idea how many users are dead/alive and we have no idea how many of the dead ones killed themselves.

 

[petmom]

That's true. We can't know. I was just wondering.

Talking about suicide doesn't increase risk, but having a method and means, and acquiring them does. The forum provides lots of detail and discussion on doing just that. It's then at least one less "safety mechanism" to prevent suicide if someone acquires the means. I also assumed people who learn more about suicide methods from this site, are more likely to have successful attempts afterwards, due to choosing more reliable methods. Most suicide attempts fail due to unreliable methods like overdose of OTC medications, or cutting. A pinned thread in the suicide resources tells you to not do those non-methods. I figured that then might increase the odds of death, potentially, for those who read them and go through with it.

That's also a bit of a stretch though I'll admit.

 

[Steph99]

I kind of think it's the opposite - without this forum people might just assume jumping, shooting, or hanging would do the job. Once they come here they're exposed to lots of methods, many quite complicated. And overthinking etc occurs. So my hunch is that this factor, the forum proviidng social interaction with like minded people, and the recovery section means a lessor suicide rate than if the site didn't exist.