Wrist cutting

[misatosdiary]

Seen often in movies and TV shows, I now wonder if this method could be it. I have heard all of the comments about how dumb this would be and how unreliable that method is buut I really want to see more information on it and wonder if theres any megathred for it or anything. Lethality rates, how and where and how deep to cut yourself, difference between in a bathtub and not (arteries for this one, bathtub for bleeding out). I'm wondering about when blood clotting happens, how likely it is to happen and how to prevent it. Lastly, if you could choose, would a paracetamol od be better or wrist cutting. If your answer is neither drop ur fav methods (without prescription drugs or hanging or jumping or shooting or setting fire). Thanks for anyone whos respondin to this!

 

[Ash]

I think the death rate is about 6%. Even doctors who have the years of anatomical training and knowledge to do properly, not to mention access to the local anaesthetics required to make it as painless as possible tend to choose alternative methods. You've got a better chance of sustaining severe, possible permanent damage to the muscles, ligaments and tendons.

As for paracetamol, I don't know the stats, but again it's not recommended. You're looking at being a bit unwell, being extremely unwell, or possible long term organ damage. That could be fatal but it's not quick and painless and involves a lot of agony and suffering.

There's a megathread in the Suicide Discussion main page which goes through all the different methods and their drawbacks. If something isn't mentioned, it's not recommended and shouldn't be attempted for very good reasons.

 

[FuneralCry]

Cutting and paracetamol just sound like ways to end up in a situation of worse suffering to me, my most ideal method would be Nembutal but of course sadly it's not an option which is really so cruel and terrible, all I wish for is the option of a painless death just like never waking again, I never wish to suffer in this existence again. I'll always find it so tragic how people have to suffer and struggle to die on their own terms without the option to just reliably die in peace. But anyway I hope you find what you search for, I wish you the best.

 

[grisly bear]

I am also interested in the Wrist Cutting method.
If anyone could provide statistics, studies, and numbers, that would be great.
Also, what should one be aware of?
I am not very interested in any permanent severe damage in case of failure."

 

[andreamysk]

Meta-analyses are usually the most solid research, because they are based on the sum/comparison of many studies on the subject. The most recent one I found («Journal of Affective Disorders» vol. 300, 1 March 2022, Pages 121-129) reports a lethality rate of 1-4% in case of cutting. The authors are aware that the lethality rate may be affected by a gap in information regarding unrecorded CTB attempts (and they used statistical tools to limit this bias), but this will at most further lower the reported percentage. I hate to say it, but this is what emerges from the studies: CTB attempts are mostly by young women; actual CTBs are mostly by older males (and this depends on the method). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.054

 

[Old]

It's not likely to work because veins carry blood at low pressure. Arteries are what you need to cut, but they are deep. You might damage a nerve, muscle or tendon trying to reach an artery, plus, it hurts a lot. Alsooo, the artery has to be important preferably, like in your neck (carotids).

Sorry to say this, but I have thought about this method and it's just very likely to fail unless you fight through the pain and literally cut half your head off.

 

[sugarb]

Seen often in movies and TV shows, I now wonder if this method could be it. I have heard all of the comments about how dumb this would be and how unreliable that method is buut I really want to see more information on it and wonder if theres any megathred for it or anything. Lethality rates, how and where and how deep to cut yourself, difference between in a bathtub and not (arteries for this one, bathtub for bleeding out). I'm wondering about when blood clotting happens, how likely it is to happen and how to prevent it. Lastly, if you could choose, would a paracetamol od be better or wrist cutting. If your answer is neither drop ur fav methods (without prescription drugs or hanging or jumping or shooting or setting fire). Thanks for anyone whos respondin to this!

Suicide attempts with a blade have extremely low lethality, like <5%. It's a highway to a mental hospital, you almost certainly won't be catching the bus. Quite possibly the worst method, even less effective than ODing.

My personal tier list for methods is 1. Gun 2. Hanging 3. Jumping (100 ft +) 4. Tying a weight around my neck/arms, walking in a lake and drowning myself 5. Letting a train run over my head (last resort).

Shooting, drowning, hanging, gas, jumping, and poison are statistically the most successful, in that order. Guns are the most reliable (90%+ iirc) followed by drowning/hanging at roughly 50-70% and gas/jumping at 30-50%. Everything else falls far below that. Reconsider your limits if you're serious.

also jsyk we aren't allowed to outright suggest methods

 

[dolemitedrums]

It is mostly a recipe for scars and nerve damage. If you do cut the radial arteries, there isn't that much blood that goes through them (compared to femoral or carotid etc.) and it takes quite a while to actually lose enough blood to even lose consciousness. If you aren't disturbed or stumbled upon or don't change your mind and call for help during that time, yeah you'll more likely die than not if you really open up one or both of those arteries, but it isn't the quickest.

 

[grisly bear]

So wrist cutting seems to be more of a movie/theater myth?
As a more fact-oriented person, I believe in statistics.
Are there any statistics or analysis on different methods of cutting the wrist?(Bathtub with warm water vs. blood thinners as an example)

 

[PinballWizard39]

One of my good friends died from slitting his wrists. He did it and wasn't found for a couple days. I don't know statistics and what not, but yes, you risk doing a lot of damage if you aren't successful.

Last year, I cut my wrist, not setting out to kill myself or anything, just SH, but I went too far and ended up exposing my radial artery and closely missing my tendons. I'm incredibly lucky that I didn't cause lasting damage from cutting so deep. However, if I had wanted to cut my artery, it was right there in front of me - boy was I tempted. Instead, someone found me and called an ambulance.

 

[4lw4ysst4gn4t]

Seen often in movies and TV shows, I now wonder if this method could be it. I have heard all of the comments about how dumb this would be and how unreliable that method is buut I really want to see more information on it and wonder if theres any megathred for it or anything. Lethality rates, how and where and how deep to cut yourself, difference between in a bathtub and not (arteries for this one, bathtub for bleeding out). I'm wondering about when blood clotting happens, how likely it is to happen and how to prevent it. Lastly, if you could choose, would a paracetamol od be better or wrist cutting. If your answer is neither drop ur fav methods (without prescription drugs or hanging or jumping or shooting or setting fire). Thanks for anyone whos respondin to this!

I dont recommend paracetamol od. I tried it and I just ended up puking for hours and damaging my stomach. You will just be in alot of pain and need medical attention.

 

[sugarb]

So wrist cutting seems to be more of a movie/theater myth?
As a more fact-oriented person, I believe in statistics.
Are there any statistics or analysis on different methods of cutting the wrist?(Bathtub with warm water vs. blood thinners as an example)

Yeah pretty much. It CAN be lethal but IRL it's generally really scary, painful, unpredictable and unreliable. For most people the SI will probably be so intense they can't go past just a shallow cut. I definitely couldn't. I'd rather live 50 years than attempt by cutting.

Unfortunately all the suicide statistics I've seen don't account for impulsivity (emotional breakdown vs months of planning) or sub-methods (shotgun vs pistol, gun placement, jumping from 50 ft vs 100 ft, type of poison, etc), or the number of unreported attempts.

I believe the numbers for gun suicides are roughly accurate because it's hard to mistake a gun suicide for anything else, hard to mess up a gun suicide, and you don't get a lot of unsuccessful gun suicides. I suspect falling from higher points, strong poisons, and gas tents as opposed to bags are much more lethal than the overall numbers for falling, poison, and gas.

Not sure about cutting. I think the cutting number of 2%-ish success rate is heavily brought down by people who're just self harming and not really attempting like PinballWizard a few comments up

 

[willitpass]

People underestimate how deep the arteries are beneath the skin. Arteries are deep down beneath layers of tissue and muscle for a reason-the body is trying to protect them. Unless you're in a psychotic state you're almost guaranteed to give up from pain long before you reach that deep. The likelihood of reaching them, especially if you don't have a significant history of cutting, but even still, are very low. You would also require the anatomical knowledge to actually know what you're looking for and how to get there. Access to medications that will cause significant enough blood thinning to prevent clotting before bleeding out are also going to be prescription only. As has been stated below, the odds are incredibly against you, less than 5% is an insanely low number. Do not try it.


Don't get your suicide ideas from movies. This is your life you're playing with, not a hollywood film being played up for views.

 

[Erring]

Willitpass has already explained it well. You'll end up with chronic complications, more than anything else.