We can empathize with every person who has died by suicide and yet we should seek to thwart every suicidal plan that has not yet been consummated. Edwin Shneidman, Suicide as Psychache
Tag: edwin shneidman
Quote of the day 22 Oct 2015
I have proposed the view that suicide is prevented by changing our perception of the situation, and by redefining what is unbearable. Perceiving that there are other possible ways of seeing things, redefining the impossible, bearing the unbearable, swallowing the undigestible bolus of shame or guilt. Edwin Shneidman
Quote of the Day 13 Oct 15
There is no single best kind of death. A good death is one that is “appropriate” for that person. It is a death in which the hand of the way of dying slips easily into the glove of the act itself. It is in character, ego-syntonic. It, the death, fits the person. It is a death that one might choose if it were realistically possible for one to choose one’s own death.
EDWIN SHNEIDMAN, A Commonsense Book of Death
thoughts behind quotes of the day
I have been using Shneidman’s quotes for the Quote a Day thingy. I wanted to let the world know how much he means to me so each day, if I remember, I will quote something from his books. I don’t have his exhaustive library but I have some.
Shneidman was a great man. He called me out of the blue one day while I was at work. I didn’t recognize the number so I didn’t answer it. He left a voicemail saying to call him soon. But the trouble was I had an appointment with my therapist around the time he called. I called him later that evening and we had a chat. I talked with the father of suicidology. The man that created psychache. It was such an honor to me that he called me. He wanted to know more about the paper that I sent him. He also wanted to see the pain scale I was talking about. This guy didn’t have a computer so he couldn’t Google it. I still have no idea how he got my number. I know I didn’t give it to him when I sent him my paper. I will never know as he died a few months later. But I never will forget him calling me. I just wish I had contacted him sooner rather than later. Maybe we could have had a relationship. I will never know. He died a few days after his last birthday. Funny, I don’t remember when he called me and when I returned the phone call. I should have made note of it. I know I saved his voicemail. It’s on a little cassette tape along with my therapists messages that were important to me.
midnightdemons7 
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