There are many myths around suicide that can influence the way we think and make it harder to recognise the signs. They can also make those at risk feel misunderstood, inadequate or alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Myth<\/strong>: A suicidal person won\u2019t ask for help and if someone is determined to end their own life there is nothing we can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fact<\/strong>: Not everyone who thinks about suicide will tell someone but there may be warning signs through what they say or do. However, they may not always be easy to notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myth<\/strong>: People who talk about suicide don\u2019t do it. People who make repetitive remarks about feeling suicidal are not genuine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fact<\/strong>: The fact that someone tells you does not mean they are less at risk of taking their own life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myth<\/strong>: Asking about suicide may give someone the idea to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fact<\/strong>: Research shows that asking direct questions about suicide helps to protect someone\u2019s life and does not put the idea into someone\u2019s head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myth<\/strong>: It\u2019s a selfish act and the easy way out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fact<\/strong>: People who are suicidal often think about and consider other people and worry about their loved ones. They may truly feel everyone will be better off without them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myth<\/strong>: It\u2019s attention seeking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fact<\/strong>: They are drawing attention to the fact they are in crisis and need help. It is important you always take this seriously by reaching out and asking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are many myths around suicide that can influence the way we think and make it harder to recognise the signs. They can also make those at risk feel misunderstood, inadequate or alone. Myth: A suicidal person won\u2019t ask for help and if someone is determined to end their own life there is nothing we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":328,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-guides.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-337","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-24 16:58:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/public-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/public-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/public-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/public-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/public-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/public-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/337\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/public-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/public-health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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