Suicide

Suicide, which occurs when an individual intentionally takes his or her own life, is among the leading causes of death in the United States. The act of thinking about or preparing for one's suicide is known as suicidal ideation, while a nonfatal, potentially harmful behavior performed with the intent of ending one's life is known as a suicide attempt. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that 45,855 people died by suicide in the United States in 2020.

The terms success for fatal attempts and failure for nonfatal attempts have previously been used to describe suicide attempts. However, suicide prevention experts advocate moving away from this language, citing concerns that describing a suicide attempt as "successful" positions...