Suicide Prevention

Suicide is a leading cause of Death

Suicide is death caused by injuring oneself with the intent to die. A suicide attempt is when someone harms themselves with the intent to end their life, but they do not die as a result of their actions.

Many factors can increase the risk for suicide or protect against it. Suicide is connected to other forms of injury and violence. For example, people who have experienced violence, including child abuse, bullying, or sexual violence have a higher suicide risk. Being connected to family and community support and having easy access to healthcare can decrease suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Serious public health problem

Suicide rates increased approximately 36% between 2000–2022. Suicide was responsible for 49,476 deaths in 2022, which is about one death every 11 minutes. The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2022, an estimated 13.2 million adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.8 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.6 million attempted suicide.

In 2022, suicide was among the top 9 leading causes of death for people ages 10-64. Suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 25-34.

Suicidal Behavior has a far-reaching impact

There were 49,430 suicides among individuals ages 12 and older in 2022. But suicides are just the tip of the iceberg. For every suicide death*, there were about:

  • 11 emergency department visits for self-harm**

  • 52 self-reported suicide attempts in the past year***

  • 336 people who seriously considered suicide in the past year***

*CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), National Vital Statistics System, Mortality 2018-2022 on CDC WONDER Online Database CDC WONDER
**CDC WISQARS (2022)
*** Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2022-nsduh-detailed-tables

Suicide Death Among Veterans in California

In 2022, there were 570 suicide deaths among California residents aged 18 years and older who served in the United States Armed Forces.

  • In 2022, the total number of deaths statewide for those 18 and older decreased by 6%. The number of deaths by suicide increased by more than 4% statewide for those 18 and older and increased by 2% among California Veterans. Notably, 2021 had the lowest number of suicide deaths to California resident Veterans since the information became available in vital statistics data in 2005.

  • Suicide deaths among Veterans made up over 14% of all suicides for those 18 and over in 2022 (similar to 2021).

  • Among both Veterans and non-Veterans, suicides made up 1% of total deaths in 2022, showing no substantial increase from 2021.

Need Help? Know someone who does?

Contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline if you are experiencing mental health-related distress or are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

Connect with a trained crisis counselor. 988 is confidential, free, and available 24/7/365.

Visit the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for more information at 988lifeline.org