Resource Summary of the Most Common Lethal Suicide Methods

[Pleroma]

Hi everyone,

here is a sober summary of the most common lethal suicide methods, ranked by reliability, availability and subjective experience:


1. Firearm (especially head, temple, mouth)

• Lethality: extremely high (over 90%)
• Loss of consciousness: instantaneous if the brain is directly hit
• Access: difficult in most countries (illegal, black market)
• Note: technically reliable, but rarely used due to procurement issues

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2. Hanging (classic with free fall / knot under the chin or ear)

• Lethality: high (~70–90%)
• Mechanism: strangulation or broken neck
• Loss of consciousness: after 10–20 seconds (in case of strangulation: up to 1 minute)
• Availability: everywhere
• Risk: survival with brain damage if mistakes are made

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3. Jumping from a great height

• Lethality: high, depending on height (>20 m)
• Availability: location-dependent (high-rise buildings, bridges)
• Risk: severe survival with irreversible damage

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4. Poisoning – e.g. with pesticides, sodium nitrite, cyanide

• Lethality: variable, depending on substance & dose
• Methemoglobin formers (e.g. sodium nitrite):
  • Reliable effect at ≥15 g
  • Physically distressing process (perceived as internal suffocation)
• Pesticides (e.g., paraquat): often agonizing, slow death
• Risk: vomiting, delayed death, survival with organ failure

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5. Opiate overdose (e.g., heroin, morphine, fentanyl)

• Lethality: high at the correct dose/purity
• Loss of consciousness: rapid (1–5 min)
• Mechanism: respiratory depression
• Risk: contamination, too low a dose, survival with brain damage
• Access: difficult, illegal

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6. CO poisoning (e.g., car exhaust fumes – rarely effective today due to catalytic converters)

• Lethality: formerly high, now greatly reduced
• Loss of consciousness: gradual
• Availability: limited
• Risk: often survived, headaches, nausea, neurological consequences

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Ingesting substances is highly risky with low chances of success in almost all cases. It often involves suffering, takes the longest of all methods and is the most complicated in terms of preparation and execution. In short, hanging is the gentlest, quickest, most painless, and safest method. Without a fall height, care must be taken to ensure the rope is correctly positioned and applies sufficient pressure to both carotid arteries. Unconsciousness typically occurs within 15 to 30 seconds, usually before any conscious awareness of breathing difficulties or pain arises.

 

[Freedomm]

Sodium nitrite doesn't cause painful choking, just a slight breath like exercise.
CO almost always kills a person if they don't get help, loss of consciousness depends on concentration.
The use of certain substances, such as cyanides, is guaranteed to lead to death. I don't think these are unlikely methods.

 

[Pleroma]

This is a simplified view that often doesn't hold up in practice.

Sodium nitrite leads to the formation of methemoglobin, which can no longer transport oxygen, causing internal asphyxiation. Without sedation, it often results in severe nausea, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, panic, and sometimes convulsions. With sedation, the absorption of nitrite can be delayed or occur too late, meaning the process may be experienced while fully conscious.

Modern vehicles with catalytic converters produce too little carbon monoxide. Other CO sources without converters (e.g., charcoal or diesel generators) can be effective, but the outcome heavily depends on the CO concentration and room ventilation. Loss of consciousness often takes time and is usually preceded by nausea and headaches.

Cyanide is extremely toxic but doesn't act instantly. Death typically occurs after 15–30 minutes and is often accompanied by vomiting, convulsions, breathing difficulty, and agony. If antiemetics (to prevent vomiting) are taken to keep the substance in the body, the entire process may be delayed or remain incomplete. Based on my research, this increases the risk of a painful but non-lethal outcome.

 

[Dante_]

Im sorry but why does this read like AI?

 

[Pleroma]

I used AI to research the topic and incorporated some of its phrasing. I also translated parts of it since my English is a bit rusty. That might make the text feel a bit unnatural in places, but for me, the accuracy of the information is what matters most. In this case, I believe AI is a useful and (mostly) reliable source.

 

[frayed]

classic with free fall / knot under the chin or ear

What percentage of suicidal hangings falls under the long drop variety?

 

[Freedomm]

I used AI to research the topic and incorporated some of its phrasing. I also translated parts of it since my English is a bit rusty. That might make the text feel a bit unnatural in places, but for me, the accuracy of the information is what matters most. In this case, I believe AI is a useful and (mostly) reliable source.

I would not advise you to trust AI, it is not a reliable source. Sometimes it gives absolutely incorrect information. It tries to scare you by describing any method as painful and torturous.
Although even he told me that the mortality rate of cyanide is 95%

 

[Pleroma]

Although even he told me that the mortality rate of cyanide is 95%

How did you come up with cyanide as an option for yourself? In most countries, this substance is not freely available to private individuals. Obtaining this substance seems to me to involve a number of hurdles and it would probably be easier to resort to another method.

The symptoms of oral ingestion of 200mg of cyanide are said to be as follows (source AI):

• In the first 2 minutes: burning sensation, metallic taste, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, headache, restlessness, shortness of breath
• In minutes 2-5: blockage of cellular respiration (oxygen can no longer be utilized). Convulsions, hyperventilation followed by slowing of breathing until clouding of consciousness and fainting
• In the following 10 minutes, coma and death follow

This is only a rough guide to what to expect when ingesting it. Of course, not all symptoms will necessarily occur, but it will probably not be painless.


What information do you have about its procurement, ingestion and effects?

 

[Pleroma]

Addendum (unfortunately, I can't edit my first post):

Spitz and Fisher's Medicolegal Investigation of Death, 5th Ed. (2020), chapter on hanging:
"Loss of consciousness in hangings typically results from cerebral hypoxia due to carotid artery occlusion rather than airway obstruction. A knot placed laterally (beneath the ear) is more likely to produce rapid unconsciousness than a posterior knot due to asymmetric vascular compression."

DiMaio's Forensic Pathology, 2nd Ed. (2001):
"When the knot is placed posteriorly, unconsciousness may be delayed due to less effective compression of the carotid arteries."

The location of the knot has a significant impact on whether rapid unconsciousness or slow suffocation occurs. Optimal placement of the knot laterally behind the ear or under the jaw ensures compression of both carotid arteries. Unconsciousness within 10-20 seconds, slight shortness of breath and a good chance of a gentle exit from the matrix. Knots behind the ear or under the jaw, not on the neck!