Suicide survivors. A follow-up study of persons who survived jumping from the Golden Gate and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges.

Interviews with seven of ten known survivors of jumps from the Golden Gate and San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridges showed a unique association between the Golden Gate Bridge and suicide. The study went beyond exploring the nature of suicidal jumps and shed new light on the experience of nearly dying. All the survivors described this experience as tranquil and peaceful. None of them experienced life events or distant memories passing through their minds or before their eyes. However, all of them experienced transcendence and spiritual rebirth phenomena. Suggestions for preventing suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge are discussed, including the construction of a suicide barrier.