Suicide Prevention in Canada: 5 Dangerous Myths Debunked & Lifesaving Facts
Suicide is a complex a issue that touches communities across Canada. It isn't just a private matter; it's a public health concern that demands our collective attention, compassion, and action.
Every life lost represents a ripple effect of pain that extends through families, friends, and colleagues from coast to coast to coast
More Than Just Numbers: The Human Impact of Suicide
In Canada, suicide claims approximately 12 lives every day, which accumulates to roughly 4,500 deaths annually. The resulting exposure is equally staggering: for each individual lost, a vast network of 135 people within the community may be directly impacted by that single death. This demonstrates that the trauma of suicide extends profoundly throughout our nation.
The human impact goes beyond those immediately related to the deceased. It also affects first responders, health care professionals, teachers, and entire communities. This reinforces the fact that suicide is not a solitary act, but a societal burden we share.
What turns a single tragedy into a spreading risk is precisely what public health professionals identify as suicide contagion. The mechanism is straightforward: direct exposure to suicide, whether through detailed media coverage, widespread social networking posts, or localized community events, can trigger a dramatic increase in imitative suicidal behaviour among those who are already struggling.
Contagion is not a mythical idea; it is a demonstrable risk that turns tragedy into a public health emergency, demanding immediate and coordinated responses. This means the way we talk about suicide is as important as the resources we provide.
The Silent Crisis: Examining Suicide Rates Across Canada
Official statistics, sourced primarily from Statistics Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, confirm that suicide remains a leading cause of death. It is tragically the second leading cause of death for Canadians aged 15 to 34 and is consistently ranked as one of the top three leading causes of death for children aged 10 to 14, underscoring a critical and early crisis among our young people.
While younger Canadians face the crisis as a top cause of death, the highest actual rates of suicide are often seen in middle-aged adults (e.g., 40 to 59 years old) and are consistently three times higher for males compared to females. While the data shows women attempt suicide three to four times more frequently, the mortality data is tragically inverted: men account for roughly 75% of all suicide deaths, maintaining a rate three times that of women.
This difference between men and women is largely a function of the means chosen. To address this, prevention strategies must be bifurcated: targeted risk reduction and lethal means management are important for men, while robust intervention and long-term mental health support are essential for women.
What Causes Suicide? Understanding the Complex Intersections
Suicide is not the result of a single event or a simple failure of will. It is a public health issue that arises from the convergence of multiple risk factors that overwhelm a person’s ability to cope.
Experts use a comprehensive model to explain the pathway to suicide, acknowledging that the cause is always a complex interaction between a person's underlying biology and their immediate life circumstances.
The Internal Struggle: Psychological Pain and Crisis
Understanding the psychological factors, specifically the feelings of inescapable emotional pain and disconnection, is important because it shifts the focus from treating a generic "illness" to addressing the specific mental states that create the desire to end one's life.
Hopelessness and Impairment
Hopelessness is the strongest psychological predictors. When a person believes their suffering will never end, they lose the ability to see alternative solutions or pathways out of their current crisis.
While depression is a major risk factor, the psychological state of hopelessness is the strongest predictor of a suicide attempt. A depressed person may be in pain, but a hopeless person believes the pain will never end.
Suicide is oftentimes not about wanting to die; it is usually about desperately wanting the pain to stop. If a person views their emotional state as a closed loop of suffering with no exit, death becomes, tragically, the only perceived solution.
Therapy and crisis intervention, therefore, must specifically target and challenge this belief of absolute permanence.
The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS)
The modern, evidence-based understanding of the psychological pathway to suicide is largely guided by the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS), developed by psychologist Dr. Thomas Joiner (2005).
This theory is widely accepted because it explains two facts: why people desire suicide, and why the vast majority of people who desire suicide do not act on that desire.
IPTS posits that a lethal attempt requires the convergence of three separate, necessary components:
Thwarted Belongingness (The Feeling of Alienation):
This component addresses the fundamental human need for connection. Thwarted Belongingness is the chronic, painful perception that one is utterly alone, alienated from others, and disconnected from any meaningful group or community ("I have no one and nowhere to belong").
This feeling persists even when the person may have family or friends nearby, as the sense of connection is based on subjective feeling, not objective reality.
Research consistently shows that feeling disconnected, lacking social support, and experiencing loneliness (even among married individuals or university students) are significant and independent predictors of suicidal ideation.
Perceived Burdensomeness (The Feeling of Worthlessness):
This is a dangerous misperception where the person genuinely believes that their existence imposes a profound, debilitating burden on their family, friends, and society.
They conclude, often mistakenly, that their death would be worth more to their loved ones than their life ("My family would be better off without me"). This belief fuels the motivation for self-sacrifice.
Studies have shown Perceived Burdensomeness to be one of the strongest predictors of suicidal desire, particularly in vulnerable groups like the chronically ill or those experiencing severe financial hardship.
Acquired Capability for Suicide (Overcoming Self-Preservation)
Humans have an innate and powerful instinct for self-preservation. To overcome the intense fear and pain associated with a lethal suicide attempt, an individual must acquire the capability to do so. This capability is not born, but learned.
It is acquired through repeated exposure to painful and provocative experiences that lead to a kind of habituation, desensitizing the person to pain and fear. Here are some examples of Acquired Capability:
A history of self-harm behaviours.
Experiencing severe physical or emotional trauma (e.g., childhood abuse, combat exposure).
Being in professions that require frequent exposure to injury and death (e.g., military, surgery, emergency response).
Previous non-fatal suicide attempts (which drastically increase the fearlessness of death and the risk of future attempts).
The IPTS asserts that a person is at the highest, most lethal risk when they possess the desire for death (high Thwarted Belongingness + high Perceived Burdensomeness) AND the acquired capability to act on that desire.
This model offers clear targets for intervention: treating the pain, reconnecting the person, and restricting their access to lethal means.
The Underlying Foundation: Biological and Genetic Risk
A part of a person's vulnerability to suicide is established long before a crisis occurs. This foundation includes biological and genetic elements that affect mood regulation and impulse control.
Brain Chemistry
Imbalances in key neurotransmitters, particularly serotonin, have been linked to depression, impulsivity, and aggressive behaviours—all of which are recognized risk factors for suicide. Serotonin plays a key role in suicide as it is most consistently implicated in these behaviours. Serotonin is essential for regulating mood, sleep, appetite, and impulse control.
Studies—particularly post-mortem analyses of brain tissue and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF)—have repeatedly found lower levels of the serotonin metabolite (5-HIAA) in individuals who have died by suicide, especially those who died violently.
This imbalance suggests a diminished capacity to manage stress and control impulsive, aggressive feelings toward oneself. It is not the sole cause, but it contributes to a physiological vulnerability.
Genetics
Suicide risk runs in families. While it is not a direct genetic inheritance, a family history of suicide or mental illness suggests a greater biological predisposition (vulnerability) to conditions like major depression, bipolar disorder, or substance use disorder.
The risk of suicide completion is 30% to 55% heritable, meaning genetic factors account for a large portion of the variance in risk among individuals. What is primarily inherited are the major risk conditions, such as Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, and Substance Use Disorders.
These conditions are genetically influenced, and their presence dramatically elevates suicide risk.
Some research, including large genome-wide association studies (GWAS), has begun to identify specific genes (particularly those influencing the GABA or serotonin systems) that may contribute to risk independently of a major mood disorder, suggesting a possible inherited trait for impulsivity or aggression linked to self-harm.
Pre-Existing Conditions
Over 90% of people who die by suicide have a diagnosable mental health condition, with major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and anxiety being key contributing factors. The most commonly associated conditions include:
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD):
MDD is the single most common mental health condition found in people who die by suicide, often present in at least 50% of cases, and sometimes cited at over 60% of individuals who have attempted suicide.
Patients with MDD have a risk of suicide that is estimated to be 20 to 25 times higher than the general population. These high-risk figures are consistent in both international and Canadian data.
The risk is highest during severe episodes, driven primarily by feelings of hopelessness, pervasive sadness, worthlessness, and the cognitive narrowing that makes the person unable to see future alternatives or solutions.
MDD is often a "co-occurring disorder" (comorbidity). The risk increases significantly when depression is compounded by substance use or a severe physical illness.
Bipolar Disorder:
Particularly during depressive or mixed episodes. studies suggest that up to 20% of people with bipolar disorder die by suicide, and 20% to 60% attempt suicide at least once during their life.
This is often cited as a higher risk than that associated with major depressive disorder alone.
The most dangerous periods are typically during depressive episodes or during mixed episodes, where the patient experiences depressive thoughts simultaneously with the extreme agitation, energy, and poor judgment of mania.
The combination of intense despair and the impulsive, risk-taking behavior characteristic of mania creates a lethal combination where the person has both the intent and the energy/disinhibition to act.
Substance Use Disorder (SUD):
Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) are highly prevalent in Canada and are consistently ranked among the most significant suicide risk factors. They frequently co-occur with mood disorders, compounding the overall risk.
The risk of suicide is elevated among individuals with SUDs. For instance, the risk of suicide is increased by approximately 9.8 times for those with an alcohol use disorder and even higher for those with polysubstance use.
Substances, particularly alcohol, act as a disinhibitor. They impair judgment, weaken impulse control, and reduce fear of pain, allowing a person to act on suicidal thoughts they might otherwise suppress.
SUDs can also be a form of self-medication for underlying depression or anxiety, creating a vicious cycle where substance abuse worsens the mood disorder, leading to greater hopelessness and isolation.
Personality Disorders:
Personality disorders are strong predictors of non-fatal suicidal behaviours (attempts and self-harm). Suicidal behaviour in personality disorders are often a desperate attempt to regulate overwhelming emotional distress (emotional dysregulation) or a reaction to perceived abandonment, leading to high-risk, impulsive actions.
Psychosis:
While psychosis isn’t a type of disorder, it is a syndrome—a collection of symptoms that fundamentally alters a person's perception of reality, creating intense psychological pain through command hallucinations or inescapable delusions that death is the only solution.
For a significant number of people, the internal struggle is compounded and complicated by psychotic episodes. Psychosis in Canada represents a high-acuity risk factor that demands urgent attention.
One extensive Canadian study found that the lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts among persons with schizophrenia was 39.2%—over 14 times the rate of non-afflicted individuals.
Societal and Cultural Influences
Suicide risk is profoundly shaped by the social, cultural, and economic environments in which people live. These external factors can systematically erode protective supports and intensify feelings of isolation, hopelessness, and acute distress, making certain groups disproportionately vulnerable.
Systemic Marginalization:
Systemic violence, persecution, and historical atrocities (such as residential schools, slavery, or mass displacement) do not end with the lifetime of the survivor.
They result in intergenerational trauma, or minority stress, a complex transmission of emotional, spiritual, and psychological distress across generations. This trauma persists across families and communities, manifesting in higher rates of mental and physical health issues, including suicidal behaviour.
First Nations and Indigenous:
For Indigenous communities (including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis), the elevated risk is deeply tied to the ongoing impacts of colonialism, cultural genocide, forced relocation, and systemic racism.
This leads to intergenerational trauma that persists across families and communities, manifesting in higher rates of mental and physical health issues, including suicidal behaviour.
2SLGBTQI+ Youth:
Youth who identify as Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or other forms of gender and sexual diversity (2SLGBTQI+) experience higher rates of suicidal ideation and attempts compared to their cisgender, heterosexual peers.
For instance, Indigenous LGBTQ young people report seriously considering suicide in the past year at a rate of 54%, compared to 41% in the broader LGBTQ young person sample, highlighting the multiplicative stress of intersectional identities (The Trevor Project, 2023).
This disparity is not inherent to their identity, but is driven by chronic stressors like family rejection, discrimination, and victimization in school and society.
Stigma, Shame, and Barriers to Care
Stigma operates on multiple levels—public (societal prejudice), perceived (fear of being judged), and self-stigma (internalized shame)—all of which contribute to reduced hope, lower self-esteem, and social isolation.
Fear of being perceived as "weak" or "a failure" due to suicidal thoughts prevents many from reaching out to family, friends, or health professionals.
Over half of people with mental illness do not receive treatment, and concerns about being treated differently, or fears of losing jobs and livelihood, are major contributing factors.
This delay in accessing care allows symptoms to worsen, significantly increasing the long-term risk of suicide. Addressing stigma is recognized as a fundamental component of effective suicide prevention strategies.
Economic Factors, Financial Stress, and Insecurity
Economic hardship acts as a proximal and distal stressor for suicide, particularly for working-age adults. Acute financial loss is often a powerful precipitating factor.
Every 1% increase in global unemployment rates has been associated with a corresponding increase in suicide deaths. Financial stressors such as high debt, past homelessness, unemployment, and lower income, especially when accumulated, are highly predictive of subsequent suicide attempts, even when controlling for pre-existing mental health issues (Duke Health, 2020).
Conversely, the a study strengthening economic security—such as increasing the minimum wage or providing robust unemployment benefits—have been associated with projected decreases in suicide rates (VA Mental Health, 2024).
While the cited research is American, the evidence base and conceptual framework linking social safety nets to lower suicide risk are directly applicable to public policy discussions in Canada.
Immediate Triggers: Stressors and Environmental Factors
While vulnerability exists beneath the surface, a specific trigger is often the catalyst that moves a person from ideation to action.
These triggers are typically acute, recent stressors that feel overwhelming in the moment.
Major Life Transitions: Significant loss, such as the death of a loved one, divorce, or loss of employment, can shatter a person's foundation.
Relational Conflicts: Relationship breakdowns, bullying, or social isolation.
Access to Means: The ease of access to lethal means (such as firearms or certain medications) is a critical environmental risk factor that increases the likelihood that an impulsive suicidal thought will result in death.
Contagion (The Cluster Effect): Exposure to the suicide of a family member, friend, peer, or even highly publicized media coverage can trigger imitative behaviour in already vulnerable individuals.
The interplay of genetics, brain chemistry, and chronic illness establishes a deep, internal vulnerability.
This physiological risk, however, does not exist in isolation; it constantly interacts with the supports and systemic pressures of the external world.
Debunking the Myths: Suicide in Canada
Suicide is often shrouded in silence and stigma, allowing dangerous myths to thrive. These pervasive misconceptions—which are widespread even in professional circles—actively increase the risk for vulnerable individuals.
It's time to cut through the confusion and replace harmful myths with lifesaving facts. Let's sort them out, challenge the stigma, and save lives.
Myth 1: Talking about suicidal thoughts to others can increase their risk.
Fact: Talking about suicidal thoughts with people who may be struggling with them lowers the risk. The idea that discussing suicide might "plant the idea" is one of the most dangerous myths in prevention, yet research and clinical practice consistently prove the opposite.
Suicidal thoughts thrive in isolation, fueled by shame and a painful sense of alienation known as Thwarted Belongingness. You don't have to be a professional to offer a lifeline.
Simply creating an open, non-judgmental space for someone to discuss their suicidal feelings directly counters the isolation fueling their risk.
This conversation provides essential cognitive relief, easing intense distress and interrupting the cognitive narrowing that traps the person in a desperate state, unable to envision any alternatives.
Major health organizations, including the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP) stress that direct questioning is the first and most essential step toward safety, enabling intervention, safety planning, and connection to professional help.
Myth 2: Suicide is a result of a moral failing, weakness, or a lack of religious faith
Fact: The perception of suicide as a character flaw or a sin creates the most powerful barrier to help-seeking: stigma. This myth suggests that the individual chose their distress due to weakness, which leads to immense guilt and fear of judgment, encouraging silence.
However, modern research, including Canadian health policy, recognizes that suicide is a catastrophic outcome of severe mental health conditions (like MDD, BD, and Schizophrenia), neurobiological factors (like serotonin dysregulation), and overwhelming social stressors (like trauma, isolation, and addiction).
Major health organizations treat suicide as a preventable health outcome, much like heart disease or cancer, and not as a crime or a moral choice.
Myth 3: People who talk about suicide are seeking attention or engaging in a manipulative "cry for help" and aren't actually serious.
Fact: Any talk of suicide or self-harm is serious and requires immediate, non-judgmental action.This harmful belief causes bystanders to delay or dismiss interventions, which can be fatal.
It trivializes the profound distress an individual is experiencing. A threat of self-harm or suicide is the most direct signal that an individual is in acute distress and has entered a dangerous zone of risk.
While the person may indeed be desperate for help or attention, the language they are using is a warning sign of intent. Research shows that a prior threat or non-fatal attempt is a strong predictor of future completed suicide.
Whether the statement is a desperate plea for help or a firm declaration of intent, the clinical response must be the same: treat all threats seriously, assume the person is at risk, and initiate a conversation to connect them with professional intervention.
Myth 4: If a person is truly determined to die by suicide, nothing you do can stop them.
Fact: Most suicidal people are ambivalent; they are struggling between the wish to live and the wish to end their pain. This myth leads to feelings of hopelessness and futility, preventing people from attempting to help. It suggests that intervention is pointless.
Intervention at the right time can leverage their desire to live. The vast majority of individuals contemplating suicide are not necessarily determined to die, but rather to end their overwhelming pain.
They feel trapped, unable to see alternatives, but a part of them still wishes to live. This ambivalence provides a crucial window for intervention. Support, empathy, and connection to resources can tip the balance towards life.
Effective interventions, even simple conversations, can buy time, reduce the intensity of the crisis, and help the individual find new coping strategies and support.
Myth 5: If someone has been in a suicidal crisis and then suddenly appears calm or "better," the danger has passed.
Fact: The risk of suicide can actually increase immediately after the initial crisis, a period often extending into the days and weeks following clinical discharge. Because a sudden shift from intense distress to calm can be misleading, caregivers and loved ones must maintain continued vigilance and support rather than lowering their guard prematurely.
A sudden lift in mood after a period of intense suicidal ideation can sometimes signal that the person has made a firm decision to die and feels a sense of relief about it.
Alternatively, they may simply have gained the energy or resolve to act on their plans. This is why the period immediately following a crisis, or even after discharge from a hospital, is considered particularly high-risk. Continued support, monitoring, and adherence to safety plans are essential during these times.
A Call to Informed Action
Empower Yourself: Get Trained
Train yourself to navigate complicated conversations about suicide. Consider taking an accredited course like Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) or Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST). These programs teach practical skills to recognize warning signs, engage in supportive dialogue, and confidently connect individuals in crisis with professional help.
Immediate Support
If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out:
Call or text 9-8-8 anytime in Canada.
Contact your local crisis line.
Speak to a trusted friend, family member, or healthcare professional.
