Research has shown that about three-quarters of the
                        people who kill themselves first present "clues" to their
                        impending suicides. Therefore, increasing your aware-
                        ness of the clues is certainly a crucial step toward
                        protecting your family and friends.

                        Clues may be verbal or behavioral - some people will say
                        things while others will do things to indicate that they
                        are on the verge of suicide.

                        Here is a list of verbal clues. All of these expressions were
                        actually mentioned by people who were about to kill
                        themselves. The list is by no means complete, but it does
                        illustrate the variety of verbal clues suicidal people give
                        to those around them. As you will see, some verbal clues
                        are so blatant that they are actually announcements of
                        suicidal intentions.

                          1) "I'm going to kill myself."
                          2) "I'm not the man I use to be."
                          3) "My family would be much better off without me."
                          4) "You won't be seeing me around anymore."
                          5) "Ever since I've retired I've felt like I'm in the way all
                                the time."
                          6) "I just can't stand it any longer."
                          7) "It's too much to put up with."
                          8) "Life has lost it's meaning for me."
                          9) "Nobody needs me anymore."
                         10) "If (such and such) happens, I'll kill myself."
                         11) "If (such and such) doesn't happen, I'll kill myself."
                         12) "I'm getting out."
                         13) "Here, take this (valued possession); I won't be
                                needing it anymore."

                        The mythology surrounding suicide leads people to
                        believe that those who talk about killing themselves don't
                        actually do so. As the above list of verbal clues clearly
                        indicates, nothing could be further from the truth.

                        In addition to the verbal clues, there are numerous
                        behavioral clues. Here is a partial list of the more common
                        ones.

                          14) A previous suicide attempt (particularly if it occurred
                                recently and would have been serious enough to have
                                caused death.)
                          15) Giving away a valued personal possession.
                          16) Buying a gun (especially when the person never want-
                                ed guns in the home before.)
                          17) Putting personal and business affairs in order as
                                though they were preparing to take a long trip.
                          18) Inquiring about how one donates his/her body to
                                medical science.
                          19) A person planning his/her/ funeral shortly after the
                                death of a loved one.
                          20) A poor adjustment to the recent loss of one or more
                                 loved ones.
                          21) A person who has always resisted having a last will and
                                 testament suddenly decides to write one.
                          22) Composing a suicide note - some families discover the
                                 notes long enough in advance of the suicide to do
                                 something about it
                          23) A sudden, unexplained recovery from a severe 
                                 depression - such people may be expressing great relief 
                                 since they have "resolved" all their problems by deciding 
                                 to kill themselves. 
                          24) Any unexplainable change in usual behavioral patterns
                                 (e.g. a person who never liked to drink suddenly begins
                                 drinking to excess, a "penny pincher" suddenly
                                 donates a large sum of money to charity.)
                          25) Suddenly resigning from organizations such as clubs,
                                 church groups, or fraternal orders.
                          26) Crying for no apparent reason.

                          Sometimes verbal and behavioral clues go hand in hand
                          (as in the cases of #13 and # 15) when the potential
                          suicide does something and says something at the same
                          time.