Suicidal tendencies in handwriting: Do not miss those warning signs
Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.”
— Phil Donahue, American writer and film producer
It is a well-rounded statement, and perhaps true as well. But if you can somehow manage to get inside the head of a person with suicidal tendencies, you’ll know that the reason he may decide to kill himself one day is because he sincerely believes his problems are not temporary: they’re permanent. After all, it’s a matter of perspective; it depends on the angle from which you’re looking at the problem.
Suicidal tendencies in handwriting
Suicidal tendency, according to pychologytoday.com, often stems from a deep feeling of hopelessness. An inability to see solutions to various day-to-day problems or to cope with challenging circumstances may lead people to see taking their own lives.
In many cases, depression is a key risk factor for suicide. But depression in not the only driving factor; others include psychiatric disorders, substance use, chronic pain, a family history of suicide, and a prior suicide attempt. As a matter of fact, impulsiveness also plays a role among adolescents who end their lives.
A research published in May 2020 suggests that the Covid-19 pandemic, which has already killed tens of thousands across the globe, could lead to about 75,000 more deaths from drug or alcohol abuse and suicide, primarily because of rampant unemployment, isolation and an uncertain future.
In India, hundreds of students have committed suicide because of examination pressure. While some students hanged themselves from the ceiling, many jumped off high-rises.
I remember the mother of a schoolgirl from Mumbai was disconsolate on TV, repeating just one thing: “I wish I knew what was on her daughter’s mind…” Her friends said the girl was under pressure because her parents expected her to excel in all school examinations.
Studies show that in most cases, students commit suicide for having failed to live up to the expectations of their parents who want their children to be the “best” and aspire to fulfil their own unrealised dreams through their offspring. Unknowingly, they weigh down the tender shoulders with their obscure hopes and unwittingly push them on the verge of suicide.
Millions of words have been written on how parents should treat their children. I don’t want to add more. All I want to do here is to say that handwriting analysis can reveal whether someone is feeling suicidal. My aim here is to ensure people get fewer chances to say, “I wish I knew…”.
The first sign to look for is depression. In graphology, depression is seen when the baseline of handwriting slopes or the word at the end of a sentence suddenly drops.
I present here three handwriting samples (in pics below) — all by people who have descending baselines and all of whom committed suicide. If the descending baseline is accompanied by a low t-bar (indicating poor self-esteem), the tendency to commit suicide becomes extremely strong.
Signs of depression in handwriting: Words at the end of the sentence invariably drop
Suicidal tendencies in handwriting: Sudden drop in the last word of the second line.
All last words in the three lines drop at the end
Self-hatred and suicidal tendencies
There is another aspect that drives people to commit suicide. Self-hated. Sometimes, an individual’s extreme displeasure with himself can drive him to suicide. In graphology, the dislike for oneself and the sense of worthlessness, which powers the force behind suicide, is seen in a few strokes in handwriting.
One of them is strike-through lines in signatures, which I saw in the suicide note (Picture A) of the girl who killed herself. These straight lines pierce through the signature, indicating the writers’ utter unhappiness with their situation. If combined with rock-bottom self-esteem and depression, the desire to terminate one’s existence intensifies.
If you have such strokes in your signature, I recommend you remove them as soon as possible. The presence of such strike-through lines in your signature (Picture B) does not mean you are gonna kill yourself tomorrow.
The stroke reflects a tendency to self-sabotage. Every time one pierces one’s name in the signature, the subconscious mind receives as many messages to stab and hurt oneself, which activates the propensity to wipe out one’s identity.
Let’s take a look at more examples of suicidal tendencies reflected in the handwriting.
#1. The great depression valley
The pockets that you see in the handwriting sample above denote a deep void in the subconscious mind. This handwriting feature is not an easy catch for an untrained pair of eyes. But it’s a stark indicator of hidden depression. If the slant of the handwriting is leftward, then it’s a sign of withdrawn emotions and feelings.
To see if an emotion is expressible or not, one has to look at the slant in the handwriting. A backward slant is a sign of withdrawn emotions. Such writers don’t let even close ones know what’s happening deep down in their thoughts. On the other hand, if the handwriting slants to the right, it shows that the writer is able to share and express his/her frustration.
#2. Cutting signature shows suicidal tendencies
A depression valley in handwriting, coupled with a strike-through — vertical or horizontal — in the signature, makes for a deadly indicator of suicidal tendencies. Cutting the signature invariably points to an inclination to undermine your worth and self-eradicate. (We’ve also discussed this in an earlier article on signature analysis.)
#3. Sudden drop in baseline
A baseline indicates the goals that you set for yourself in life and the handwriting pressure denotes the vigour with which you pursue or accomplish these goals. When you see a one-off drooping baseline, it is an indication that such people are capable of acting upon their self-destructive thoughts. You may equate the situation with a sudden dip in an aircraft’s altitude, which could be an early sign of a potential crash. Take note, such writers are crying for help.
#4. Suicidal tendencies & falling baselines
A drooping baseline indicates an unhappy state of mind. Whether the person is capable of acting on his suicidal thoughts is measured by the pressure applied while writing. The heavier the pressure, the higher the chances of implementing self-destructive thoughts.
#5. Straight baseline with falling last word or letter
Suicidal tendencies in handwriting.
This phenomena occurs when the last letter of a word, or the last word in a sentence, kisses the ground. This calls for immediate action as it’s a red flag. They are the people who may seem calm and composed on the outside, but are capable of taking sudden and impulsive decisions.
#6. X-Formation
Another important thing to look for suicidal tendencies handwriting is x-ing. Check out handwriting sample below (Picture C) to see there are plenty of x-formations. Handwriting analysts world over agree that these x-formations are strong indicators of the inclination to wipe out one’s identity.
Suicidal tendencies in handwriting: X-formation in handwriting
I hope you will make use of the indicators given above to identify the suicidal tendencies of a person. And, like always, the usual disclaimer is: To arrive at a conclusion about someone’s personality, you should look for various other parameters in the handwriting.
If you find these suicidal tendencies in the handwriting sample of someone close to you, talk to them. Remember, they are on a slippery slope and you need to handle them carefully.
(Vishwas contributed to this article)
Disclaimer: One element of handwriting may be analysed at a time, but always look at the entire handwriting sample before arriving at any conclusion.
