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Suicidal ideation is a common medical term for thoughts about suicide, which may be as detailed as a formulated plan, without the suicidal act itself. Most people who undergo suicidal ideation do not commit suicide[citation needed]. The range of suicidal ideation varies greatly from fleeting to detailed planning, role playing and unsuccessful attempts, which may be deliberately constructed to fail or be discovered or may be fully intended to succeed but not actually do so.
Suicidal ideation should not be ignored; at the very least it indicates an unhappiness with life that could be addressed. Regardless of what percentage of people with suicidal ideation commit suicide, it is still a risk factor for suicide. A trained psychologist or psychiatrist should be making the final evaluation on the risk of suicide, and even they are sometimes wrong. In a study conducted in Finland, 22% of the suicide victims examined had discussed suicidal intent with a health care professional in their last office visit (Halgin, 2006). An untrained person should not ignore warning signs of suicidality; a failure to respond may carry devastating consequences.
[edit] References
- Halgin, Richard P., Susan Whitbourne (2006). Abnormal psychology : clinical perspectives on psychological disorders. Boston : McGraw-Hill, pp. 267-272. ISBN 0073228729.
- Beck, AT, Steer, RA; Kovacs, M; Garrison, B (1985). "Hopelessness and eventual suicide: a 10-year prospective study of patients hospitalized with suicidal ideation". Am J Psychiatry 142 (5): 559–563.
- Uncapher, H (2000-2001). "Cognitive biases and suicidal ideation in elderly psychiatric inpatients". Omega 42 (1): 21–36.
- Uncapher, H, Gallagher-Thompson, D; Osgood, NJ (1998). "Hopelessness and suicidal ideation in older adults". The Gerontologist 38 (1): 62–70.
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