Discussion What constitutes a suicide attempt?

[tiltedcompass]

Some time ago I vented about how I tried to strangle myself with a long, thin rope. The intention wasn't to ctb, but to see if I could make myself pass out. I was going through a lot of mental pain and didn't want to be awake, that was the full reason why I did it.

Maybe I was being too naive about the whole thing because now I keep overthinking it.
Do others see what I did as some kind of attempt? Even if it wasn't the initial intention, now it feels like it. Especially since I kept repeatedly strangling myself for days until my throat started hurting (it still does, but a lot less). Did I go too far for someone who isn't actively suicidal? Maybe I could've died by accident if I continued, who knows, I'm not even smart enough to know if that's possible.


Sorry for the rambling, but my question is: What exactly constitutes a suicide attempt? Is it determined by yourself or others? Or is it more related to how "serious" the injury was?
For example: Some wouldn't call stepping close to a ledge, with the intention of jumping but backing out, a suicide attempt since there's no injury. But others do consider it an attempt.

Again, sorry for rambling but I'm feeling a bit confused about what I did.

 

[EmptyBottle]

It is about whether the act was intended to destroy oneself or not, imo.

While a test that results in self-destruction may be reported as CTB, the creator of the universe may know that it is accidental/negligent death.

If a non method was attempted and failed (eg too much alcohol), hospital may report it as careless drinking but the attempter would know (and probably lie about the fact, to avoid the ward) that it was an CTB attempt.

 

[Ruru-san]

Honestly i think it all really lies with the intent. If you were strangling yourself while thinking, "if I keep going for 1 second longer, I might actually die" then i would personally consider that an attempt. But if it is something like testing how long you can last or testing the side effects of something within a reasonable degree, I wouldn't. It really is up to personal interpretation I think.

I asked the same thing myself some time ago so you might find the thread useful:

What do you count as an attempt?

I’ve just been thinking to myself, have I really ever attempted? Like how would you guys quantify an attempt? As for me i tend to do things that sort of “push the boundary” such as taking one or two more (ever increasing btw) than my prescribed medicine says I should or taking extreme risks...

sanctioned-suicide.net

 

[salamid]

Well, firstly, I would say something counts as an attempt if your intention was to ctb, but you failed by accident. I think that's pretty obvious and non-controversial.

As for backing out, personally, I would say that it counts if you already initiated something that affected your body in some way, like for example taking some pills but then changing your mind and stopping before you had a lethal dose.

If you back out without hurting yourself, then I think it depends on whether the desire to ctb was impulsive or not. My reasoning is:
If it was not impulsive, then you probably regretted not going through with it pretty quickly (<24h). That means your true intent was still to ctb the whole time, but you failed to overcome SI. The impulsive action wasn't the attempt, but rather the backout. It made you fail your attempt.
If it was impulsive, then in this example, that would probably mean you went to the ledge, maybe even looked down, and then changed your mind. You made no attempt to do anything.

 

[Surek02]

What exactly constitutes a suicide attempt?

There's no single, clear-cut answer to this question. Is it determined by the person themselves? Yes. By others? Yes. Is it more related to how "serious" the injury was? Possibly.

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Some have already answered this, but I'll repeat it - it only depends on you whether it was an act of self-harm or a CTB attempt.

 

[Kurwenal]

As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't really matter what of your actions you, or anyone else, labels as a suicide attempt. What matters is the actual impact it has had on you. I suppose I have an internal number of how many 'actual' suicide attempts I've made, and an internal number of how many weren't 'real'. But that doesn't mean anything. It's the impact on the person that is important.

For one person, the act of tying a noose, but not putting their head through it, may traumatize them for years to come. For another person, taking an OD of OTC meds with the full belief that that is the end, may end up changing them in a different way. A label doesn't help you process what you've experienced, in my opinion. Only reflection on what you actually feel will do that.

I'm sorry your suffering drove you to the point where you wanted to pass out, to escape the mental pain within. For my mind, it isn't a matter of whether that's a suicide attempt or not. It's a matter of acknowledging the aftermath, and trying to process within yourself what that means to you and what you want to happen next.

 

[rs929]

As other have said, it depends upon your intention. If you down a whole blister of clonazepam thinking you're going to die, it would count as a suicide attempt (even if it will just give you a hangover)

 

[Dejected 55]

I think there is a large grey area. Generally speaking, I feel like IF you want to die, and you do a thing that you hope/think will kill you... even if that thing never had a chance because you didn't know better... then that's an attempt.

IF you do a think that you know won't kill you, but you want to be sick or hurt and maybe get someone's attention to hear you on what you want to talk about... that feels less like a suicide attempt.

BUT... you can do something you don't think will kill you, and you die. Like the people who have died from autoerotic asphyxiation. They didn't typically mean to die, but something happened. It ends up being an accidental suicide, in which case I think after-the-fact it counts as an attempt maybe?

I don't know.

I think it also depends on if we are trying to label for scientific purposes OR to judge someone. IF we are trying to judge someone, then I say leave it alone and don't label it unless they do. If it is for science, then to keep statistics in order you probably have to categorize it somehow.

 

[rs929]

BUT... you can do something you don't think will kill you, and you die. Like the people who have died from autoerotic asphyxiation. They didn't typically mean to die, but something happened. It ends up being an accidental suicide, in which case I think after-the-fact it counts as an attempt maybe?

I would say thats an accidental death, not a suicide

 

[Dejected 55]

I would say thats an accidental death, not a suicide

I think it's a gray area because at least some of the people who have died via autoerotic asphyxiation have also been known to be depressed... and you have a situation where it might be purely for pleasure seeking OR it could be for risky pleasure seeking not caring if you die because you kind of want to die.

 

[Hiro Uchiha]

I honestly would count opening a sealed bottle of sn as an attempt if the intent is there. Just because you never actually get to a point where you dealt damage/harm to yourself, doesn't mean you attempted.

I like the definition "non-fatal, self-directed, potentially injurious behavior with the intent to die as a result of the behavior"