Suicide has been a very common phenomenon throughout history, seen in just about every culture since the beginning of time. It has been written about and contemplated by many philosophers, sociologists, and political figures, however it was not until around the 1940s that it really grabbed the attention of the field of psychology. Edwin S. Shneidman, a clinical psychologist and the father of suicidology, devoted his entire life and professional career to the focus of this dire anomaly. In one of his greatest and latest published works, The Suicidal Mind, he takes the reader through the real-life cases of three different individuals who had either attempted or committed suicide. Within the book, he also takes the time to fully develop and explain his theory of suicide as psychache, an overwhelming amount of psychological pain, as well as providing some personal and professional therapeutic techniques to lessening this psychache (Shneidman, 1996).
The Father of Suicidology and Suicidal Minds
Suicide is one of the most plaguing issues seen in many cultures across the world, and can often impact the people surrounding the victim more than other causes of death. It can happen suddenly and without warning, to a person that may have been perceived in the community as very outgoing and overwhelmingly optimistic. Suicide tends to have many predictable outward symptoms, but largely remains a problem within the mind. This unfortunate, but increasingly more common act is one that is seemingly understudied by the field of psychology. Pioneered by the early work of Emile Durkheim, a French sociologist, and continued by Sigmund Freud and Karl Menninger in the early 20th century, it was not until recently that it started gaining the recognition of the majority of the field. Suicidology, the scientific study of suicide prevention and suicidal behavior, addresses this and the many other issues surrounding it (History of the American Association of Suicidology). Edwin Shneidman is deemed by many to be the father of this critical sub-field.
After a long life of being relentlessly devoted to a single subject, and founding the American Association of Suicidology, Shneidman produced one of his most popular works 13 years before his deeply saddening and untimely death in 2009 (In Memoriam – Edwin Shneidman). The Suicidal Mind, published in 1996, was a book written by a man with a tremendous passion towards helping to alleviate pain and save lives (Shneidman). After reading some of his earlier, more professionally and clinically focused works, a person reading this work will notice that it contains a short summation of psychological theory, as well as the thought-provoking memoirs of several individuals who flirted with suicide. Less scientific than most of his works, but more realistic than fiction, Shneidman engages the masses with enough of each to keep all demographics enthralled.
At the foremost of the first chapter, one is introduced to the main concept of this work, suicide caused by an intense psychological pain, psycheache. In addition to this pain, psychological drama exists within the mind of every individual who idealizes suicide, and is never of a joyful or exuberant manner. The most important premise to define and understand is the concept of lethality, the likelihood of a person dying by their own hand in the future (Shneidman, 1996, p. 7). Before attempting to understand why an individual desires to seek this permanent answer, the psychologist must first ensure that the patient is safe from themselves, and only after establishing safety may treatment commence. Many of these individuals feel that this is the only option for them (Shneidman, 1996, p. 13). For practicality, Shneidman groups most suicides in to five clusters based upon psychological needs: thwarted love, fractured control, assaulted self-image and avoidance of shame, ruptured relationships and the attending grief, and excessive anger (1996, p. 25).
The case file of Ariel Wilson lists the first cluster, thwarted love, as the primary psychological issue in her life. More exactly, Shneidman makes an argument that: succorance, the need to be taken care of, deference, to admire and support a superior, and nurturance were her ultimate needs (1996, p. 28). Her decision to immolate herself was due to a lack of fulfillment in these three desires after her father had died, her friends had abandoned her, and her fiancé left her. “She had sought the embracing quiet of an untended grave and she felt totally betrayed by the roar of the inferno (Shneidman, 1996, p. 47).â€
The most important development of the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center in the 1950s was the discovery that clues tended to precede suicide (Shneidman, 1996, p. 51). These clues are most often verbal or behavioral, and are an interesting paradox in suicidology. Clues can often be a last effort to reach out for safety, or an internal self-preservation mechanism. Verbal clues are typically more cryptic, while behavioral clues are much more difficult to hide, and are typically easier to identify by a trained individual (Shneidman, 1996, p. 56). Most people who do commit suicide talk about it beforehand, but most people who talk about suicide do not commit it. It is important to always show support for an individual who does discuss suicide, whether jokingly or not, and to be concerned about their immediate safety (Shneidman, 1996, p. 58).
The best answer of the psychological needs that are most commonly related to suicide is that the number or specific needs are not the main factor, rather it is the intensity of the frustration of the unfulfilled need (Shneidman, 1996, p. 76). The last two personal cases written about share some common ground, but have several different aspects. Both individuals attempted suicide, albeit for very different reasons. One desired the need to belong, where as the other desired the need to strike first. However, both showed very common clues in their lives leading up to their accidents, but neither had a strong social support system (Shneidman, 1996, p. 87). Whether it was a close friend, a therapist, or even just an attuned passerby, the commonalities of suicide were easily observed, and the slightest concern could have changed their courses.
Shneidman proposes ten commonalities of suicide that he identified in his work, and argues that 95 out of 100 suicides has at least one commonality prior to it (1996, p. 129). Successful therapy identifies if one of these commonalities is present, and if one is, the following actions should be: reducing the pain, removing the blinders, and lessening the pressure. Psychotherapy is a common and effective way of treating such an individual, as long as the therapist is knowledgeable and competent, and the individual is willing to change (Shneidman, 1996, p. 150). The problems lie within the inner workings of the mind, and the belief that escaping their psycheache is true relief. For as Shneidman once said, â€there is a great deal of psychological pain without suicide, but there is no suicide without a great deal of psychological pain (In Memoriam – Edwin Shneidman, 2009, p. 1).â€