If someone thinks about suicide, it does not mean that this person really wants to die. Clinical psychologist Martin Steendam addresses this question. He is the project leader of suicide prevention for the national organization of human health in the Netherlands (GGZ).
People don’t want to die
Although people try to end their lives, it is not the case that people who attempt suicide want to be death. They want to put an end to their problems and they do not longer know how to solve them. They want the worry to stop. They always come to the conclusion that there is no solution. The self-chosen death then seems the only solution.
Golden Gate Bridge
There are a lot of people jumping from the famous Golden Gate Bridge every year. A very small number of those people survive this (Kevin is one of them). The people who survived were asked what went through them at the moment they actually jumped. Everyone thought in those few seconds that they did not really want to die. They wanted to live but without the problems.