Since 1989, the WHO has suggested that relatives and close friends of people who die by suicide are a high-risk group for suicide.4 Explanations include the particular psychological trauma of a suicide loss, which involves grief and agonising self-questioning; shared familial and environmental risk; suicide contagion through the process of social modelling1; and the burden of stigma associated with violent losses.1 ,5 Quantitative studies confirm that people bereaved by suicide and other violent deaths perceive greater stigma than other bereaved groups.1 Their qualitative accounts are of others’ distaste or embarrassment over the disturbing nature of an unnatural loss,5 and a loss of community support,6 ,7 with the effect of reducing help seeking and perceptions of the support available.7 As stigma may be more modifiable than other potential explanatory factors, there is interest in understanding its relationship to suicide-related outcomes after negative life events.1 International suicide prevention strategies have placed great emphasis on the provision of support for people bereaved by suicide,1 despite the lack of studies confirming that risk of adverse outcomes applies beyond the effect of any sudden loss.1 ,8 There is also little evidence for effective interventions after suicide.9 Studies comparing people bereaved by suicide with non-bereaved controls support an increased probability of suicide following any bereavement.10 Those using controls bereaved by non-suicide causes go further in supporting an association between sudden bereavement and suicide-related outcomes.10 ,11 However, risk of hospital-treated suicide attempt is similar in adults bereaved by suicide and those bereaved by accidental deaths,12 suggesting that the wider risk factor is bereavement by any unnatural causes. Reading a newspaper article about a famous suicide and not just directly experiencing the death of a friend or an attempt made by a family member might propel someone who is at-risk to follow suit.The researchers from University College London (UCL) studied 3,432 UK university staff and students aged 18-40 who had been bereaved, to examine the specific impacts associated with bereavement by suicide.As well as the increased risk of suicide attempt, those bereaved by suicide were also 80 per cent more likely to drop out of education or work.In total, 8 per cent of the people bereaved by suicide had dropped out of an educational course or a job since the death.  People bereaved by suicide of a friend or family member are 65 per cent more likely to kill themselves than the ones whose relatives died of natural causes, a new study has claimed.People coming in contact with ones displaying self-destructive behaviour are more likely to show a suicidal tendency.It is common among vulnerable people - especially teens and young adults.  People bereaved by the sudden death of a friend or family member are 65 percent more likely to attempt suicide if the deceased died by suicide than if they died by natural causes 
 
 People bereaved by the sudden death of a friend or family member are 65% more likely to attempt suicide if the deceased died by suicide than if they died by natural causes. Stigma as a potential confounder Adding stigma scores to adjusted models for significant associations between suicide bereavement and adverse outcomes attenuated ORs, as predicted, with no evidence for group differences between those bereaved by suicide and those bereaved by sudden natural causes in postbereavement suicide attempt (AOR=1.11; 95% CI 0.74 to 1.67; p=0.610) or occupational drop-out (AOR=1.36; 95% CI 0.89 to 2.09; p=0.156), or between those bereaved by suicide and those bereaved by sudden unnatural causes in terms of poor social functioning (AOR=1.06; 95% CI 0.80 to 1.41; p=0.667). Our study supports a specific association between suicide bereavement and suicide-related outcomes, justifying the inclusion of people bereaved by suicide in national suicide prevention strategies. The clinical implications of these findings are that clinicians assessing suicide risk should inquire not only about a history of suicide in blood relatives, but also in friends and non-blood relatives. Employers should be aware of the significant impact that suicide bereavement has on people's working lives and make adjustments to help their staff return to work." Our study is of policy importance in specifying that friends as well as relatives warrant support after a suicide, addressing the vagueness of suicide prevention strategies on how extensively to offer support.1 The WHO estimates that 800 000 people die by suicide annually,28 and 60 people are now understood to affected by each suicide death.29 This means that 48 million people are bereaved by suicide worldwide every year. However, saying something is often better than saying nothing, and simple gestures like offering practical help with day-to-day activities can mean a lot.The study also found that people who had been bereaved by suicide tended to perceive more social stigma around the death.When the results were adjusted for perceived social stigma to reflect this, the significant differences in suicide attempts and occupational functioning disappeared.This suggests that addressing the social stigma attached to suicide bereavement might be one way to help to limit its impact on people's lives. "Although one often hears people refer to a relationship break-up or a redundancy as the trigger for a suicide, this is far too simplistic and in reality it is often a culmination of different life events rather than one individual 'cause'," she said.Previous studies have shown family history of suicide to be a risk factor for suicide attempt, so risk assessments in hospitals, prisons and social care settings are designed to take this into account.
– Dealing with death is difficult enough, but when a loved one takes his or her own life, it becomes even more complex—and it may up the risk of suicide for those left behind, a new study finds. In their findings published in the BMJ Open journal, researchers from University College London studied 3,432 adults ages 18 to 40 who'd been bereaved by a sudden death of a friend or family member. They found that individuals whose deceased loved ones had killed themselves were 65% more likely to attempt suicide themselves (what NDTV refers to as the phenomenon of "suicide contagion") than those affected by a loved one's sudden death by natural causes—or 1 in 10 people in that segment, per a press release. And having someone close to you die by suicide was found to have other repercussions, too: The study discovered that those affected by suicidal deaths were 80% more likely to leave a work or educational situation, per the release. "Our results highlight the profound impact that suicide might have on friends and family members," study author Dr. Alexandra Pitman says in the release. And the social stigma around suicide may be a significant factor affecting a mourning person's outlook. "Suicide in particular is often perceived as a taboo subject," Pitman notes. "Avoiding the subject can make a bereaved person feel very isolated and stigmatized, and sometimes even blamed for the death." That's not to say, though, that having such a tragedy afflict a family member or close friend dooms a person to a similar sad fate. "These outcomes are by no means inevitable," Pitman says. "If you have been bereaved by suicide, you should know that are not alone and support is available." (A Marine unit has lost 14 members to suicide.)