People with ADHD Are at High Risk for Suicide

I want to talk about suicide and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) because September is Suicide Prevention Month. Though ADHD has a reputation in our society for being either a punchline or an excuse, it is important to note that people with the condition have a 30% higher risk for attempting suicide or dying by suicide.¹ There are a number of reasons for this, including high comorbidity (when multiple conditions exist in the same person) with other disorders, such as depression or anxiety. Read more to find out what contributes to this high suicide rate in people with ADHD and what we can do to help prevent it.

Why People with ADHD Have Higher Suicide Rates

Those with ADHD who are most likely to die by suicide also suffer from other conditions, like borderline personality disorder or bipolar disorder. As I mentioned, ADHD often occurs with other mental conditions that can make life difficult. However, one study showed that even ADHDers who didn’t have another diagnosis were a higher suicide risk than the general population.² Here are a few other reasons why people with ADHD might be depressed and even suicidal:

• Strong emotions: those with ADHD have a hard time regulating their sometimes powerful emotions. They can be both physically and emotionally sensitive, cycling through a wide range of feelings depending on the circumstances. They might also suffer from rejection-sensitive dysphoria, which makes perceived rejection acutely painful and embarrassing. Rejection is a part of life, so it is something that they are bound to encounter many times.
• Lower dopamine: people with ADHD tend to have a hard time processing pleasureful neurotransmitters such as dopamine, which is why they often look for something new to boost their interest and excitement. This can lead to addictions in a search to feel happy or even normal. It can also result in general feelings of restlessness and dissatisfaction in relationships, careers, and life in general.
• Impulsivity: impulsiveness associated with ADHD also makes someone at risk for suicide because an impulsive person is more likely to act on his suicidal thoughts. In addition, impulsivity and impatience can lead to the frustration that results in those suicidal thoughts. Impatience makes one want to fix everything immediately. When that doesn’t happen, hopelessness can ensue.
• Isolation: all of these issues, as well as social awkwardness that is sometimes connected to ADHD, might result in feeling alone and deficient. Their perceived failures in life due to their impulsiveness, emotionality, and problems performing routine, daily tasks can make ADHDers feel that they will never get better and that there is something fundamentally wrong with them.

Video with Advice for Depressed ADHDers

In the video below, I give some tips to people with ADHD who struggle with depression and suicidal ideation.³

Thank you for reading and watching. Please leave comments about how you have handled suicidal thinking if you have ADHD. However, if you are acutely suicidal, seek help right away.

If you feel you may hurt yourself or someone else, call 9-1-1 immediately. 

If you need help with distressing thoughts (including suicidal thoughts), call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 

For more information on suicide, please see our suicide resources here.

Sources

1. Faraone, Stephen, “ADHD and Suicide.” ADHD in Adults, March 2016.
2. Dickerson, Kelly, “People with ADHD May Have a Higher Suicide Risk.” Live Science, June 2014.
3. Balazs, Judit, and Agnes Kereszteny, “Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and suicide: A systematic review.” World Journal of Psychiatry, March 2017.