Category: suicidality

Different Theories of Suicide

by Midnight Demon, posted in depression, mood disorders, psychache, suicidality, suicide, suicide attempt

Different Theories of Suicide

A few weeks ago I participated in a twitter chat (@SPSMChat). The discussion was about how Joiner’s Interpersonal Theory was the cause of suicide. The theory is the hypothesis that Perceived Burdensomeness (PB), Thwarted Belongingness (TB), and fearlessness of lethality all contribute to a suicide. Perceived Burdensomeness is when a person thinks they are a burden to society, their family, and their significant others. It is the “better off” type of feelings that are believed to go into suicidal thinking.

Thwarted belongingness (TB) is when a person believes that they are outcasts of society or group they belong to. They feel they do not belong to any such group and thus feel isolated and alone.

Fearlessness of lethality is a premise that the person doesn’t have a fear of death. It is like a Russian roulette towards death. An example of this is taken from the book Myth of suicide by Thomas joiner is Kurt Cobain. He was at first totally against the use of guns but then acclimated to them and then use a rifle to inflict his death. His lyrics speak to his struggle with suicide and depression as well as the pain he was feeling.

While Joiner’s theory does have some merit, it, like other theories of suicide cannot be proven due to the nature of the study. No ethic board would condone the death of the subject to prove a hypothesis.

The other theory that comes to mind is Shneidman’s theory of psychache as a causal factor in suicide. The here is that deep, unbearable pain is the reason behind suicidal thinking and action. In my own personal experience, I thought for a long time that I don’t belong to any group. And I also thought that I was a burden to others. But what drove me to the brink of death was the deep psychological pain that I was feeling, an element that I believe Joiner is lacking in his theory. If you combine psychological pain with TB and PB then you have a nice recipe for suicide.

There is some merits with Joiner’s Interpersonal theory of suicide but I believe whole heartedly he is missing the key element of pain. I really believe that if he adds psychological pain to his theory it will be a valid theory, in my opinion.

Mr. Hyde and nerve pain

by Midnight Demon, posted in chronic physical pain, depression, suicidality

I have been thinking the past few days. Yes that has been the smoke that has been circulating in the air in Boston. Apparently on Tuesday in the throws of another pain episode I was barely aware of, I sent my therapist a text. It said that I cannot go on living like this, with this level of pain. I have no recollection of sending it. I knew I sent it because it is my phone but it sounded more of Mr. Hyde. I have been trying to wrap my head around Hyde. He likes to come around at various times and sometimes I can “catch him” and other time he alludes me. But I am cracking down on when he is likely to occur. When I am deeply hopeless, suicidal, and in severe physical pain. All three must be present for Hyde to emerge. The sucky part about this is my safety because Hyde want to die. I wasn’t in danger of dying, as far as I know, Tuesday but I could have. I just wanted to sleep, and fairly succeeded on doing that. I also have to be in a sleep state to bring Hyde out. He is more likely to show himself while I am overtired. Like I am now.

I just had zaps go through my foot. Just imagine the shock you get when you place your tongue on a 9 volt battery, minus the metallic taste and you have the zaps I get in my feet. Sometimes they are stronger than a 9 volt. And they jolt me awake, like tonight. I was ready to turn in but my PTSD symptoms (hypervigilance and anxiety) have taken over. It is going to take another Ativan to calm down. Hyde doesn’t like Ativan too much. It makes me really sleepy so I do sleep. It doesn’t cause me to do other weird stuff like Neurontin does. I know that I am not having another attack of CES and that things will be ok but in my head, I am “excited” and fearful of when the next zap is going to come. Usually if I stretch out my legs, it makes it worse. So I have to sit with my legs up so they don’t get zapped. And there is nothing I can take for it. The zaps come and go as they please. They don’t last long enough for me to take anything, but boy do they cause havoc!!

I am listening to Luke Bryan. He has some really good songs that I love listening to over and over again. He has that southern voice that I just love. It can be a fast song or a slow one and I just swoon over his voice. It’s not relaxing like Mary Chapin, but it will do.

I really need to go to bed soon. It’s after midnight and I need to be up at six. I need to take a shower and get ready to take my sister’s car. I will need a large coffee to help my mood. The good thing is that I don’t need to rush because I don’t have to pick up my father till 830. I then have to take him for a blood draw for his Coumadin test. He doesn’t know it yet but he will.

Well, I think the zaps have settled down some. I hope I get some sleep tonight. Or tomorrow is going to suck…

Suicidal thinking

by Midnight Demon, posted in chronic physical pain, depression, suicidality

It’s finally a nice day, at least seventy degrees out. It is making it warm in the house. I am watching the Sox game. I had spent the afternoon with my sisters for Mother’s day and then retreated back upstairs. I am still feeling really tired, even though I had a good sleep last night.

I had a rough night. I was in severe pain. It was not unbearable but it was more annoying me than anything because it was the third night in the row that I have had to deal with this pain. I texted my therapist because I was feeling really suicidal about it. I just didn’t want to deal with the pain at all but what choice did I have? I couldn’t chop my foot off as much as I would have liked or downed my pain medication like I was thinking about. I guess I am lucky that my pain medication has Tylenol in it because if it didn’t, I probably wouldn’t care. But I don’t want to lose my liver and die that way. Plus I probably would never be on any pain medication ever again if I did OD on my meds. That is something that I take more serious and I don’t want to lose that ability.

Dealing with my menses have just made dealing with pain that much more intolerable. I just am very grumpy and the slightest thing annoys me. I just can’t seem to tolerate things I used to tolerate, my annoying pain included.

Little things such as my pain can set off suicidal thinking. It is extremely hard to pull back when you are annoyed. I am trying to better identify this and to seek help so that I won’t make an attempt on my life again. In the ideal world, most therapists would like clients to call someone when they are on the brink. But rarely does this happen because of hopelessness. You just think that no one would understand what you are going through. I once texted a crisis line that I was thinking of overdosing on my medication. Instead of dealing with the idea of overdosing, they decided that I should talk to a nurse to see if it was safe to take another dose. HUH??? I have all but given up on calling for help when I need it.

BREAKING #SUICIDE NEWS

by Midnight Demon, posted in suicidality, suicide, suicide attempt, suicide attempt survivor

Just got word from Twitter that the American Association of Suicidology just approved, unanimously, a new division for suicide attempt survivors and people with lived experiences. This is so exciting, I just had to blog about it. People who have attempted or who have seriously thought about suicide now have a voice. I am so excited and proud to be a member and contributor of their blog and organization!!