Essay on Suicide

Essay on Suicide: Introduction

At first, society and individuals should improve awareness about suicide before they learn how to prevent suicide. With this awareness, they would be able to see others who are at the risk of committing suicide, what the symptoms are, how to notice the risky individuals (group), and, most importantly, how they can help when an individual is having a psychoneurotic breakdown. Suicides have been happing for centuries. So how can we prevent individuals from committing suicides? As much as doctors, we are obligated to help our loved ones to make sure that they will get help before they commit suicide because there is always hope for those individuals.

Body Paragraphs

End of the ninth century, the beginning of the twentieth century, Emile Durheim explained a concept for suicides in society. 'Anomie,' this word used for individuals who committed suicide. (Marske, 1987, n.p) The reason for Anomi was that individuals did not see themselves as a part of society. And the meaning of there was getting empty, so they committed suicides—the Suicide rate raised in society. Today psychologists can define various psychiatric illnesses and reasons for suicide, such as depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia. Mostly, individuals communicate their intentions to kill themselves to others before doing it. These individuals are dealing with psychological stress, showing symptoms such as anxiety, agitation, perturbance, hopelessness, mixed states, sleepness, alcohol, and drug abuse, family history of violence, and suicidal behavior.

Kay Redfield Jamison continues for the treatment of melancholy. They have extracted Lithium for the prevention of suicides. Lithium is the most effective treatment against suicide. However, they use other medications, antidepressants for treatment. Doctors are carrying a heavy burden because they are responsible for their own and another's life. They are responsible for their patients and their patients' family members and friends. However, they can't prevent all suicides.

Hospitalization seems frightening to the patient. However, under high-risk suicide, the patient needs to be hospitalized. One of hospitalized patient explains about suicidal depression as “A Way Station, a purgatory.” At this point, the patient, who has been hospitalized, should be observed closely before he/she creates a flashpoint for suicide.

Mental illnesses are mostly connected to suicide. While different medication is used for the treatment, there is a reason why Lithium is more effective. Lithium has been used for treatment for almost seventy years or so: It decreases mania and depression people who have been diagnosed with manic depressive disorder. Recent studies show that patients who have major depression and manic depressive illness who had been treated with Lithium were nine times less likely to attempt suicide than those who were not treated with it. However, not everyone showed a response to Lithium because of side effects such as blunting of emotions that slow thinking. For patients who do not show a response to Lithium or unwilling to take Lithium, those people have another option, such as Depakote.

Most of these medications and treatments focus on stabilizing moods in patience. One of these research finds out most of the suicides happing while patients are taking antidepressants in times of suicides. Antidepressants are not as efficient as Lithium. Antidepressants can't prevent suicide. Another treatment is Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as 'shock therapy,' and it has been used for decades to treat suicidal patience. Nowadays, shock therapy benefits short-term improvements to gain time for long-term therapy.

There is another problem with treatments for psychological illnesses. One to third of the patients has been diagnosed wrong. For instance, they have been diagnosed as depression rather than bipolar. Other examples of the book about wrong diagnoses are children who might have early mania, and they are diagnosed as depression and prescribed antidepressants by their doctors. This situation can easily make an illness worse. On the wrong diagnosis, when antidepressants prescribed alone without mood, stabilizers can lead to suicidal mixed states because of these various medications and treatments.

The author never mentions suicides committed by trauma-related specific reasons such as childhood abuse, witnessing violence on a long period, exclusion, humiliation, or rape. (Springe, 2016, n.p). Kay Redfield Jamison did classifications with medication impacts on suicide rates based on backgrounds of the patient's biological history. Also, especially university-age young adults are most likely to suicide due to stress and extreme changes in their lifestyles. Early stages of mental disorders or schizophrenia are most likely to occur in this age group. Many people in this age group are unaware of mental disorders because of this reason. At Harvard University, a group of students established a mental illness awareness program for fellow students. They wanted to educate other students on this topic. Also, drug and alcohol usage triggers mental illnesses and /or suicidal thoughts (Spencer, 2002, p.g 81-93).

Prevention of suicide is mentioned as a crucial step that begins with the awareness of mental disorders and suicidal thoughts. Suicidal thoughts are mainly impulsive. There are specific recommendations for preventing people from suicide to those who believe someone they know having suicidal thoughts and in danger of committing suicide. These recommendations include staying calm, not underreacting, taking the friend or family member seriously, reassuring, being empathetic, if necessary, calling the police, and contacting a person's psychiatrist or others who are trained to help. Those who had mental illnesses and suicidal thoughts in the past are able to recognize the symptoms of these better. So parents who have information and awareness could potentially help their children.

Essay on Suicide: Conclusion

In conclusion, suicide is another way to escape from reality. Suicide is a permanent solution to temporary problems. Individuals who think about committing suicide have mental disorders. Lithium is an effective ingredient for treating this disorder. It is helpful to regain mood stability. Also, the antidepressant is another solution for regaining mood stability but not as effective as Lithium. It is worth to mention that antidepressants can prevent suicide. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is used for treatment as a last resort. Enormous and rapid changes in lifestyles and extreme stress are the main causes of certain diseases. Society should empathize and raise awareness for those who have suicidal thoughts around them. There are specific recommendations and guidelines to promote help for a psychoneurological breakdown.

References

Marske, C. (1987). Durkheim's "Cult of the Individual" and the Moral Reconstitution of Society. Sociological Theory, 5(1), 1-14. DOI:10.2307/201987

Spencer, F. (2002). MENTAL ILLNESS. In Jazz and Death: Medical Profiles of Jazz Greats (pp. 81-93). Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. DOI:10.2307/j.ctt2tvfwf.17

SPRINGE, L., PULMANIS, T., VELIKA, B., PUDULE, I., GRINBERGA, D., & VILLERUŠA, A. (2016). Self-reported suicide attempts and exposure to different types of violence and neglect during childhood: Findings from a young adult population survey in Latvia. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 44(4), 411-417. DOI:10.2307/48512672