The Relationship between Anxiety and Suicide

 

When people think about suicide, they often picture depression — the heaviness, the hopelessness, the emotional collapse. Anxiety rarely gets mentioned. It’s seen as nervousness, worry, overthinking. But anxiety, especially when chronic or severe, has its own quiet relationship with suicide risk.

It’s not the same relationship as depression. It’s sharper, more frantic, more driven by fear than despair. But it’s real.

What the Research Shows

Studies consistently find that people with anxiety disorders — panic disorder, generalized anxiety, PTSD, OCD, social anxiety — have higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors than the general population. The risk increases when:

• anxiety is long-standing or untreated
• anxiety coexists with depression
• anxiety leads to avoidance, isolation, or functional collapse
• anxiety triggers panic, agitation, or a sense of being trapped

Anxiety doesn’t always look like a risk factor. Sometimes it looks like someone who’s “high-functioning,” “on edge,” or “just stressed.” But inside, the experience can feel unbearable.

How Anxiety Contributes to Suicide Risk

• Overwhelming fear: Anxiety can create a sense that danger is everywhere and escape is impossible.
• Catastrophic thinking: The mind jumps to worst-case scenarios, including the belief that things will never get better.
• Exhaustion: Living in a constant state of alarm wears people down emotionally and physically.
• Agitation and panic: These states can lead to impulsive actions when someone feels cornered or out of control.
• Isolation: Anxiety often pushes people away from social contact, removing protective relationships.

Anxiety doesn’t whisper “give up.” It screams “you can’t survive this.”

What Prevention Looks Like

• Take anxiety seriously: It’s not “just worry.” It can be debilitating and frightening.
• Look for signs of overwhelm: Panic, sleeplessness, withdrawal, or sudden agitation can signal someone is reaching their limit.
• Ask directly: People with anxiety often hide their distress. A simple “Are you feeling safe?” can open a door.
• Support connection: Anxiety isolates. Gentle, consistent presence helps rebuild safety.

A Quiet Reminder

Anxiety is not weakness. It’s not drama. It’s not a personality flaw. It’s a nervous system stuck in overdrive, often for reasons rooted in trauma, biology, or chronic stress.

And when someone feels trapped inside that overdrive, suicide can appear — falsely — as the only way to stop the fear.

But anxiety is treatable. Suicide is preventable. And no one has to face either alone.

post inspired by Anxiety Anonymous by Dr. Dennis Ortman

Book Description:

When you are in the grip of anxiety, fear, or worry: - Do you feel powerless to stop your reacting? - Does your life feel unmanageable? - Does your craving for control interfere with your life? - Do you feel hopeless for a cure? If you answer "yes" to these questions, you anxiety has become an addiction. It acts like a drug that excites, numbs, and possesses you, causing you to avoid a full life. Viewing anxiety as an addiction, Dennis Ortman, Ph.D. guides you through the time-tested Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous to find relief from your anxiety. He shows how the Steps offer practical wisdom on how to transform your anxious habits of thinking into constructive action. The Steps invite you to stop, look, listen, and then consciously act to create a new life, awakening your true self.

Comment from President and Founder, Psychological Counseling Services Ltd

Dr. Dennis Ortman does an incredible job with his books. He does an excellent job of using the 12 Steps to provide practical guidance for the millions of people who have problems where anger, depression, or anxiety rise to the top in terms of "the presenting problem" in their lives when they come for therapy. His books provide very useful tools to deal with getting to a better place and having a life that functions better, including more serenity.

Ralph H. Earle, PHD, ABPP, MDiv, LMFT, CSAT

President and Founder

Psychological Counseling Services, Ltd (PCS)

Scottsdale, AZ

Finalist, American Bookfest Best Books Awards

For more posts about Dennis and his books, click HERE.

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