Examining how people die by suicide can be as important as understanding why. It lacks the weight of existential study. While we may never know exactly why a person takes his or her life, we can determine with near 100 percent certainty the method used. Gunshot, poison, hanging, jumping, drowning, stabbing, cutting - each is unmistakable.
Worldwide, the leading method of suicide is hanging. People don't always have access to a firearm, drugs, motor vehicle, or a jump site, but they can fashion a noose out of just about anything.
The choice of method rarely is random. Usually it's related to the means that is most available. Police officers invariably shoot themselves because they have access to a firearm. Physicians tend to overdose because they can obtain lethal quantities of drugs easily.
In China, where pesticides are readily available for agricultural purposes, poison is the top choice. In Norway, which is surrounded by water, a disproportionate number of people kill themselves by drowning. The most popular method used to be jumping into a well in Sri Lanka, until indoor plumbing was introduced.
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