Even the smallest joys can help prevent suicide, researchers say

September 22, 2026 / 1:06 PM EDT / CBS News

New research is shedding light on suicide prevention strategies, highlighting that even the smallest joys can help during crisis.

Professor Philip Resnik, of the University of Maryland's Institute of Advanced Computer Studies, said their research started with a public Reddit post. A user had asked "formerly suicidal" people to share what kept them alive and helped them through dark times, and thousands of people responded.

"I realized that not only was this a really remarkable set of people's stories, but it was potentially an important source of data that we might be able to analyze and help people," said Resnik.

He and a team of collaborators conducted computer-assisted analysis of more than 16,000 responses and identified what they describe as four key themes that made a difference for people. The first one they list is concern for others, including a sense of not wanting to hurt loved ones or protecting beloved pets.

Another theme: the appreciation of sensory pleasures or distractions, including TV shows, video games and music.

"I think one of the most interesting things that came out of this was small things can actually have a big effect,"…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/