Regarding suicide and mental illness….

*ALL* people who commit suicide suffer from a mental illness?

No, just 90%

(https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Related-Conditions/Suicide)

Do all people who suffer from mental illness attempt suicide? Thank goodness no….but the risk is there.

From the University of Washington:

http://depts.washington.edu/mhreport/facts_suicide.php

An estimated 2–15 % of persons who have been diagnosed with major depression die by suicide. Suicide risk is highest in depressed individuals who feel hopeless about the future, those who have just been discharged from the hospital, those who have a family history of suicide and those who have made a suicide attempt in the past.

An estimated 3–20% of persons who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder die by suicide. Hopelessness, recent hospital discharge, family history, and prior suicide attempts all raise the risk of suicide in these individuals.

An estimated 6–15% of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia die by suicide. Suicide is the leading cause of premature death in those diagnosed with schizophrenia. Between 75 and 95% of these individuals are male.

Also at high risk are individuals who suffer from depression at the same time as another mental illness. Specifically, the presence of substance abuse, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder put those with depression at greater risk for suicide.

People with personality disorders are approximately three times as likely to die by suicide than those without. Between 25 and 50% of these individuals also have a substance abuse disorder or major depressive disorder.

So we come back to your assertion that there is a causal relationship between guns in the home and suicide. Before I can respond, I ask for clarification….

Are you claiming that the mere presence of a gun in the home will cause someone to commit suicide?