solitary flight

§73 Suicide is mental illness

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).