Suicide is mental illness. It is not normal behavior by normal people.
In “Some Clinical Considerations in the Prevention of Suicide based on One Hundred Thirty-Four Successful Suicides,” Eli Robins et al. find that 98% were clinically ill, 94% had major psychiatric illness, 68% were manic depressives or chronic alcoholics. Their conclusion is that public education is of less value. Hospitalization in a closed ward is ideal.
In “Suicide in Chronic Schizophrenia,” Alec Roy offers a three-fold treatment of anti-depressant drugs, electroconvulsive treatments, and empathetic therapy. In combination, these may open up non-psychotic periods, allowing the patient to grasp an otherwise unnoticed reality.
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Robins et al., “Some Clinical Considerations in the Prevention of Suicide based on One Hundred Thirty-Four Successful Suicides,” American Journal of Public Health 49, no. 7 (1959).
Alec Roy, “Suicide in Chronic Schizophrenia,” British Journal of Psychiatry 141, no. 2 (1982).