Say someone wants to die by suicide so badly that they go to the Golden Gate Bridge to jump off. But then they are stopped from jumping. What happens to them afterward?

You might think that, once freed from the authority figures who prevented their suicide on the bridge, they still went on to by suicide. After all, they were intent on dying. It would be logical to assume that being prevented from jumping merely delayed their death.

Such an assumption would be wrong. In the 1970s, a researcher named Richard Seiden wanted to find out what happened to 515 people who came to the Golden Gate Bridge to die within the previous 35 years, but who were stopped by California Highway Patrol officers. He published the results in an article titled “Where Are They Now?: A Follow-up Study of Suicide Attempters from the Golden Gate Bridge.”

What Dr. Seiden found is a remarkable testament to the fact that a suicidal crisis is often – very often – temporary.

Of the 515 people whose attempt was interrupted, only 35 later died by suicide in the years to come. Taking into account suicides that might have been missed by researchers, Dr. Seiden stated that 90% of people who tried to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge did not go on to die by suicide.

Living After a Suicide Attempt: Other Research Findings

This research, though 35 years old, still holds true. Even though a prior suicide attempt dramatically increases the risk for future suicide, studies have demonstrated that most people who survive a suicide attempt do not go on to die by suicide:

a study out of Finland Inof 224 people who attempted suicide and were treated at a health care facility, 8% died by suicide within 12 years.

Researchers in Sweden followed 34,219 people who were hospitalized following an act of intentional self-harm. During 3 to 9 years of follow-up, 3.5% died by suicide.

One study followed 100 people who had survived a suicide attempt by overdose. At the end of the 37-year follow up, 13% had died by suicide. (This study’s mortality rate is higher than others, almost certainly because of the long follow-up period and the serious nature of the attempt, which warranted admission to a hospital.)

a recent review Overall,of 177 research studies around the world found that 4% of people who survived intentionally hurting or poisoning themselves went on to die by suicide within 10 years.

Why Do Suicide Attempt Survivors Stay Alive?

There are different possible reasons why people who attempt suicide, or try to make such an attempt, might choose afterward to stay alive. The most intuitive reason is that suicidal crises are, by their nature, temporary. More often than not, the crisis passes.

Too, people who attempt suicide may receive the help they need afterwards. Friends and family may rally to their side. Therapists and doctors may help provide relief. The person’s reasons for dying may begin to fade.

Another possibility is that the instinct to live kicks in once someone comes close to dying. Until then, that instinct may have been obscured by depression, stress, hopelessness or despair.

The Instinct to Live

The story of Kevin Hines demonstrates the clarity that can finally appear when someone’s life is on the line. In 2000, he actually did jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. Precious few people survive such a fall; the water about 200 feet below acts the same as concrete when a person lands on it at high speed.

Although severe depression led him to jump off the bridge, Kevin Hines has stated:

“The very second I let go, I knew I had made a big mistake.”

For Kevin Hines, the will to live kicked in immediately. He managed to turn himself upright in the few seconds it took for him to hit the water; this way, he did not land on his head. After he was rescued, he continued to live, and lives still, serving as a suicide prevention advocate at the national level.

Life and Death After a Suicide Attempt

Obviously, the will to live does not reassert itself in everyone who has tried to die. We cannot overlook that 10% of people who survive a suicide attempt do go on to die by suicide. And half of people who die by suicide had attempted suicide at least once previously.

The tragedy of suicide is indisputable. The ongoing survival of people who attempt suicide is not (always) inevitable.

Yet it gives me great hope that the vast majority of suicide attempt survivors remain just that – survivors. This is perhaps the best argument for preventing suicide. It is true that suicide sometimes defies even the best efforts to thwart it. But overall, the evidence is that prevention is not simply a temporary delay of death.

Suicide prevention can save lives. And for most of those whose lives were saved, life goes on for many more years to come.

Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW, is the author of “Helping the Suicidal Person: Tips and Techniques for Professionals,” a psychotherapist and consultant, and an associate professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work.**

© Copyright 2013 Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW, All Rights Reserved. Written for www.speakingofsuicide.com. Photos purchased from Fotolia.com

Edited on April 26, 2017, to provide updated statistics about suicide rates following self-harm.

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