Suicide Assessment

Topic Overview

A suicide assessment is used to find out whether a person is at risk for a suicide attempt. Questions asked during a suicide assessment may include:

• Have you ever felt so bad that you thought you would like to go to sleep and never wake up?
• Have you ever felt so bad that you thought you would be better off dead?
• Have you ever thought that you are a burden on your family and friends or that your family and friends would be better off without you?
• Has someone close to you died by suicide?
• Do you notice that you've been drinking more alcohol (or using more drugs) than usual or taking chances that you might not have taken before?
• Have you ever thought about hurting or killing yourself?
• Have you ever tried to hurt or kill yourself?
• Do you ever hear voices telling you to hurt or kill yourself?
• Have you tried to hurt or kill yourself?
• What stops you from hurting or killing yourself?
• If you ever thought of hurting or killing yourself, how would you do it?

If a person has thoughts of harming himself or herself, the health professional always asks if he or she has access to the materials needed to follow through with those plans.

If a depressed person has thoughts of suicide, a plan for suicide, and access to the materials needed to follow through with the plan, he or she is at great risk and should be admitted to a hospital for safety.

Take any mention of suicide seriously. If someone you know is threatening suicide, get help right away. To learn more, see Suicidal Thoughts or Threats.