Why is cutting considered a suicide method? Is there a way to make it work?

[AngelBritney]

This is my first post here. I am happy that this forum exists and that we can talk openly about suicide.

I had some failed attempts. All of them trying to bleed to death through cutting.

It didn't work, bleeding stopped after a few minutes. I couldn't go deeper even though the razor blade was very sharp.

I watched that deleted suicide scene from 13 reasons why. She bled out but some people on reddit wrote that this would take longer to die and therefore is not realistically portrayed.

On a website that compares several suicide methods, it's listed as the least lethal method and it would take a long time before you could eventually die from it (no bathtub included).

I joined some subreddits on reddit which show pictures of fresh cuts and some did cut very deep and yet they didn't bleed that much so that they could have died from that cut.

What I truly know: It's likely that you could hit a specific spot which could cause permanent damage to your hand/arm. (The hand of a family relative has some permanent numbness now because she cut her wrist)

If this low lethality is known to paramedics then why are they so alarmed if they are called to someone who intended to end their life with cutting themselves?

Why is cutting still considered a suicide method (especially in the media, like 13 reasons why) when its lethality is low?

What would be needed to bleed to death through cutting? How much blood loss would be necessary?

If I accidentally spread misinformations through my post, please tell me so me and others will know about it.

 

[NearlyIrrelevantCake]

Non-methods that should not be attempted

mod note: this has been added to the suicide resource compilation at the top. This has been made in response to the ever increasing amount of posts made about highly unlikely methods. Please read before posting about one of these methods or feel free to link if someone does post about them...

sanctioned-suicide.net

 

[[Lord Void]]

Well, if you stab yourself in the right places then yeah death is the result. Still I can see how intent and a plan (even one that is unlikely to work) is enough to cause immediate concern. Like you say, you could cause serious harm to yourself doing this.

 

[Forveleth]

Cutting has been popularized in media. Many books, movies, and TV shows portray people killing themselves by slitting their wrists. Since most people think TV is reality, the general public accepts this as fact.

The only way you can die from cutting yourself us by cutting open one of your few major arteries. These are under high pressure so the blood will come out very quickly and will not be able to clot off. The problem with this is that it requires either long, deep cuts or surgical precision. Most of the general public are not surgeons and SI prevents you from cutting yourself ear to ear.

Edit to give a more thorough answer

If this low lethality is known to paramedics then why are they so alarmed if they are called to someone who intended to end their life with cutting themselves?

You would be a lousy paramedic if you assumed someone is going to be ok just by hearing they cut their wrists. You do not know if they have a bleeding disease, how long they have been like that, if they are on drugs, or if they are a danger to anyone else. Plus, we all know it is most likely a suicide attempt which comes with an emotional component that also needs to be addressed quickly.

Why is cutting still considered a suicide method (especially in the media, like 13 reasons why) when its lethality is low?

Because TV shows are not concerned with factual accuracy. Wrist slitting as a suicide method is a concept many in the general public are familiar with so they use that. Also you can get the cool shots of someone slowly bleeding out their wrists.

What would be needed to bleed to death through cutting? How much blood loss would be necessary?

Hitting a major artery would be necessary. https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exsanguination

 

[AngelBritney]

Cutting has been popularized in media. Many books, movies, and TV shows portray people killing themselves by slitting their wrists. Since most people think TV is reality, the general public accepts this as fact.

The only way you can die from cutting yourself us by cutting open one of your few major arteries. These are under high pressure so the blood will come out very quickly and will not be able to clot off. The problem with this is that it requires either long, deep cuts or surgical precision. Most of the general public are not surgeons and SI prevents you from cutting yourself ear to ear.

Edit to give a more thorough answer

You would be a lousy paramedic if you assumed someone is going to be ok just by hearing they cut their wrists. You do not know if they have a bleeding disease, how long they have been like that, if they are on drugs, or if they are a danger to anyone else. Plus, we all know it is most likely a suicide attempt which comes with an emotional component that also needs to be addressed quickly.

Because TV shows are not concerned with factual accuracy. Wrist slitting as a suicide method is a concept many in the general public are familiar with so they use that. Also you can get the cool shots of someone slowly bleeding out their wrists.

Hitting a major artery would be necessary. https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exsanguination

Thank you for answering detailed.

Would it feel especially hurtful if you could somehow reach a major artery? I'm afraid that, if that would somehow happen, that it would feel extremely painful and creepy at the same time.

 

[Forveleth]

Thank you for answering detailed.

Would it feel especially hurtful if you could somehow reach a major artery? I'm afraid that, if that would somehow happen, that it would feel extremely painful and creepy at the same time.

Your body uses pain to protect you. Arteries are deep under the skin. It would be very painful. There is a reason we put people to sleep for surgeries.

 

[WPack]

Your body uses pain to protect you. Arteries are deep under the skin. It would be very painful. There is a reason we put people to sleep for surgeries.

Hypothetically If you manage to numb or YOLO through the pain, that would mean striking the vital vein around your neck would work correct?

 

[Forveleth]

Hypothetically If you manage to numb or YOLO through the pain, that would mean striking the vital vein around your neck would work correct?

Artery, not vein. But yes.