Posted by Dory on June 6, 2007, at 13:11:24
In reply to ****suicide discussion thread*****, posted by gazo on May 31, 2007, at 19:11:15
the big things professionals ask are: do you have a plan? and do you feel you will carry it out now? Apparently, if you ask a suicidal person if they are suicidal, they most often say yes.
and i think there needs to be an important distinction here that many people misunderstand. Thoughts of suicide are called suicidal ideation and can be mild, as in infrequent, or severe, as in intrusive. They can be unwanted and distressing. Sometimes the person has no idea why they are happening.
Then there is a point at which a person is actively thinking about suicide in a more consistent and deliberate way. This can still fall under the category of suicidal ideation... *can* but not necessarily. The person is in agony and can only think of ending their life as a way out. They are unable to consider other options and need intervention and counselling or meds to break the cycle.
Beyond those points is the suicidal person. This person has made up their minds and often feel little anxiety or fear. They are often not distraught, and may actually appear happier. They have a detailed plan and formed intent. These people need immediate intervention and possible hospitalization.
There are people in between who are also at serious risk and also require the same level of intervention. These are the people who do have detailed plans and formed intent but they are waivering, they are intensely distressed and are often not in any state of thinking clearly. They are in enormous danger as well but are more reachable as they are seeking relief from whatever pressures they are under and may respond to gentle and careful actions of another.
The question of the plan is often the serious indicator. How detailed is the plan? How feasible?
Safety contracts are useful in most of the lower risk cases. Even for the high risk individual, putting off for one day the intent would make no difference but it might make all the difference. Intense desire to end one's life may persist and grow, but the moment of action is generally brief and can be averted.
poster:Dory
thread:760660
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20070525/msgs/761486.html