Over 90% of suicides are committed by people diagnosed with a mental disorder, depression being the most common. Suicides in people who are not psychiatric patients are a serious subject but have been poorly studied. This graduate thesis seeks to explain occurrence of suicidal events in such cases. Suicide arises from complex interactions between various phenomena. The paper presents established risk factors for suicide, suicidal behaviour models as well as present knowledge of biological basis of suicidality. The role of personality traits, especially narcissistic traits, impulsivity and perfectionism is discussed and strongly emphasised. Shame is attended to with close attention and stressed as an important factor in development of suicidal behaviour. Occurring as a reaction to an unexpected event provoking feelings of inferiority, shame often remains hidden in the unconscious and induces numerous negative emotions such as depressiveness, anxiety, aggression, anger and psychache. Shame inflicts a severe narcissistic injury on people with highly expressed narcissistic traits, causing narcissistic rage which can lead to suicide, particularly when combined with impulsivity. Pathological shame is a predisposition to suicide. Personality disorders, which weren't considered to be real mental disorders until recently, are also discussed since those suffering from them are at higher risk of committing suicide but sometimes they aren't recognised during lifetime so people are left without adequate diagnosis and treatment. Finally, examples of successful intervention possibilities in suicide prevention are given.