Medical views of suicide
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Modern medical views on suicide consider suicide to be a mental health issue rather than allowing that individuals can make a sane are reasoned choice to take their own life. The latter argument is proposed by proponents of euthanasia.
| Suicide |
|---|
| Types of suicide |
| Teenage suicide |
| Euthanasia/Assisted suicide |
| Murder-suicide |
| Suicide attacks |
| Ritual suicide |
| Cult suicide |
| Mass suicide |
| Suicide pact |
| Internet suicide |
| Copycat suicide |
| Forced suicide |
| Suicide by cop |
| History and methodology |
| History of suicide |
| List of suicides |
| Parasuicide (threats of suicide) |
| Suicide methods |
| Suicide note |
| Suicide watch |
| Views on suicide |
| Cultural |
| Legal |
| Medical |
| Philosophical |
| Religious |
| Right to die |
| Resources for dealing with suicidal thoughts |
| Crisis hotline |
| Assessment of suicide risk |
| Suicide prevention |
| Crisis hotlines by country |
Contents |
[edit] Suicidal thoughts as a medical emergency
[edit] Psychiatric emergency
Modern medicine considers severe suicidal thoughts to be a medical emergency. Mental health practitioners consistently advise suicidal people to seek help. This is especially true if the means (weapons, drugs, or other methods) are available, or if a detailed plan is in place.
Current medical advice is that people who are seriously considering suicide should go to the nearest emergency room, or call the emergency services. Severe suicidal ideation, according to this advice, is a condition that requires immediate emergency medical treatment. If depression is a major factor, then treatment usually leads to the disappearance of suicidal thoughts.[citation needed] However, medical treatment of depression is not always successful, and lifelong depression can contribute to recurring suicide attempts.
Critics of mainstream views about mental health and some advocates of the right to die argue that, far from being a sign of poor mental health, considering or intending to commit suicide can be a rational choice, and that it is the right of individuals to decide for themselves whether to continue living.
[edit] First aid
Mental health practitioners (MHPs) suggest that people who know a person whom they suspect to be suicidal can assist him or her by asking directly if the person has contemplated committing suicide and made specific arrangements, has set a date, etc. Posing such a question does not render a previously non-suicidal person suicidal[citation needed]. According to this advice, the person questioning should seek to be understanding and sympathetic above all else since a suicidal person will often already feel ashamed or guilty about contemplating suicide so care should be taken not to exacerbate that guilt.
MHPs suggest that an affirmative response to these questions should motivate the immediate seeking of medical attention, either from that person's doctor, or, if unavailable, the emergency room of the nearest hospital.
If the prior interventions fail, MHPs suggest involving law enforcement officers. While the police do not always have the authority to stop the suicide attempt itself, in some countries including some jurisdictions in the US, killing oneself is illegal.
In most cases law enforcement does have the authority to have people involuntarily committed to mental health wards. Usually a court order is required, but if an officer feels the person is in immediate danger she can order an involuntary commitment without waiting for a court order. Such commitments are for a limited period, such as 72 hours – which is intended to be enough time for a doctor to see the person and make an evaluation. After this initial period, a hearing is held in which a judge can decide to order the person released or can extend the treatment time. Afterwards, the court is kept informed of the person's condition and can release the person when they feel the time is right to do so. Legal punishment for suicide attempts is extremely rare[citation needed].
[edit] Mental health treatment
Treatment, often including medication and psychtherapy, is directed at the underlying causes of suicidal thinking. Clinical depression is the most common treatable cause, with alcohol or drug abuse being the next major categories[citation needed].
Other psychiatric disorders associated with suicidal thinking include bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, Borderline personality disorder, Gender identity disorder and anorexia nervosa. Suicidal thoughts provoked by crises will generally settle with time and counseling. Severe depression can continue throughout life even with treatment and repetitive suicide attempts or suicidal ideation can be the result.
Methods for disrupting suicidal thinking include having family members or friends tell the person contemplating suicide about who else would be hurt by the loss, citing valuable and productive aspects of the patient's life, and provoking simple curiosity about the victim's own future[citation needed].
During the acute phase, the safety of the person is one of the prime factors considered by doctors, and this can lead to admission to a psychiatric ward or even involuntary commitment.
According to a 2005 randomized controlled trial by Gregory Brown, Aaron Beck and others, cognitive therapy can reduce repeat suicide attempts by 50%.[1]
[edit] Suicide prevention
Various suicide prevention strategies are suggested by Mental Health professionals[citation needed]:
- Promoting mental resilience through optimism and connectedness.
- Education about suicide, including risk factors, warning signs, and the availability of help.
- Increasing the proficiency of health and welfare services in responding to people in need. This includes better training for health professionals and employing crisis counseling organizations.
- Reducing domestic violence and substance abuse are long-term strategies to reduce many mental health problems.
- Reducing access to convenient means of suicide (e.g., toxic substances, handguns).
- Reducing the quantity of dosages supplied in packages of non-prescription medicines e.g., aspirin.
- Interventions targeted at high-risk groups.
[edit] Research on suicide prevention
Research into suicide is published across a wide spectrum of journals dedicated to the biological, economic, psychological, medical and social sciences. In addition to those, a few journals are exclusively devoted to the study of suicide (suicidology), most notably, Crisis, Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, and the Archives of Suicide Research.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to funding research on suicide and its prevention.
[edit] References
- ^ Cognitive Therapy for the Prevention of Suicide Attempts, Brown, G.K., Have, T.T., Henriques, G.R., Xie, S.X., Hollander, J.E., Beck, A.T., Journal of the American Medical Association, 2005
