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“All 29 people who survived their suicide attempts off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge have said they regretted their decision as soon as they jumped.” http

“All 29 people who survived their suicide attempts off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge have said they regretted their decision as soon as they jumped.” https://ennyman.medium.com/a-lesson-from-29-golden-gate-suicide-attempts-a42f4ef3f970 https://ennyman.medium.com/a-lesson-from-29-golden-gate-suic... Sure most suicide attempts aren’t done this way but I think statistics like this showcase how many suicides are irrational on some level. If it was rational then you’d think they wouldn’t immediately regret it (unless the regret is irrational I guess).

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
Perhaps their regret is a significant contributor to their survival though.
- giantg2 5y ago
  Or perhaps they are only saying they regret it so they aren't thrown into a mental hospital. I wonder if there was a follow up on longterm survival.
  - jsmith45 5y ago
    Of 515 people prevented by police from jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge between 1937 and 1971, by the end of the 70s only 6% of them had committed suicide by other means. Source: "Where are they now?" by Richard Seiden
    - giantg2 5y ago
      Interesting, thanks!
- mactrey 5y ago
  Or perhaps having the experience itself ("I survived the jump") is a significant contributor to their not regretting it. There could even be multiple mechanisms there: "turns out being that close to death is really scary," or "my survival means there is a higher power looking out for me," or "my life flashing before my eyes made me realize something about my life"...
ThrowawayP 5y ago
I've seem the "29 people" statistic quoted a few times but I think it's more interesting to look at medical studies about how many people reattempt it after failing the first time: "Nine out of ten people who attempt suicide and survive will not go on to die by suicide at a later date. This has been well-established in the suicidology literature. A literature review (Owens 2002) summarized 90 studies that have followed over time people who have made suicide attempts that resulted in medical care. Approximately 7% (range: 5-11%) of attempters eventually died by suicide, approximately 23% reattempted nonfatally, and 70% had no further attempts." https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/means-matter/survival/ https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/means-matter/survi...

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago

Perhaps their regret is a significant contributor to their survival though.

giantg2 5y ago
Or perhaps they are only saying they regret it so they aren't thrown into a mental hospital. I wonder if there was a follow up on longterm survival.
- jsmith45 5y ago
  Of 515 people prevented by police from jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge between 1937 and 1971, by the end of the 70s only 6% of them had committed suicide by other means. Source: "Where are they now?" by Richard Seiden
  - giantg2 5y ago
    Interesting, thanks!
mactrey 5y ago
Or perhaps having the experience itself ("I survived the jump") is a significant contributor to their not regretting it. There could even be multiple mechanisms there: "turns out being that close to death is really scary," or "my survival means there is a higher power looking out for me," or "my life flashing before my eyes made me realize something about my life"...

ThrowawayP 5y ago

I've seem the "29 people" statistic quoted a few times but I think it's more interesting to look at medical studies about how many people reattempt it after failing the first time: "Nine out of ten people who attempt suicide and survive will not go on to die by suicide at a later date. This has been well-established in the suicidology literature. A literature review (Owens 2002) summarized 90 studies that have followed over time people who have made suicide attempts that resulted in medical care. Approximately 7% (range: 5-11%) of attempters eventually died by suicide, approximately 23% reattempted nonfatally, and 70% had no further attempts." https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/means-matter/survival/ https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/means-matter/survi...