What I have learned from my suicidal patients
theguardian.com
What I have learned from my suicidal patients
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Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients
#2>The soldier who hiked out on to the moor, lay down in the heather and overdosed. Émile Durkheim, the great sociologist, theorised as to why suicide is so common among military personnel – not simply because of the devastating effects of war, or because of their easy access to weapons, but because of the depersonalising effect of army training: “Military esprit can only be strong if the individual is self-detached, and such detachment necessarily throws the door open to suicide.”
Is this saying that veterans can kill themselves more easily because they have more rational clarity about the situation? If so, isn't that a good thing? To be able to carry it out can certainly be framed as "strong" (I doubt I could, though I'd want to if I find myself in the position). Look at these guys: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu
If you've thought about it with a level head and conclude, "I want to log off now, that's enough existence for me," is it better to suffer under moral or peer pressure because others offhandedly want you to exist for as long as possible?
Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients
#3>The soldier who hiked out on to the moor, lay down in the heather and overdosed. Émile Durkheim, the great sociologist, theorised as to why suicide is so common among military personnel – not simply because of the devastating effects of war, or because of their easy access to weapons, but because of the depersonalising effect of army training: “Military esprit can only be strong if the individual is self-detached, a…
Not sure why you’re downvoted because you asked a question with context from the article. For a bastion of nihilistic atheists that is HN, the lack of following the driving philosophy through is astounding. Why are people moralizing when the majority say that this existence is a fluke of an explosion? Seems hypocritical to me. It then again, why should I care when I look rationally at the situation and see humans are doing what they do: react by jerking a knee?
Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients
#4>The soldier who hiked out on to the moor, lay down in the heather and overdosed. Émile Durkheim, the great sociologist, theorised as to why suicide is so common among military personnel – not simply because of the devastating effects of war, or because of their easy access to weapons, but because of the depersonalising effect of army training: “Military esprit can only be strong if the individual is self-detached, a…
I think you are going in the right direction. Society needs to recognize that suicide must be some evolutionarily advantageous adaptation. Many people when pressed will say they think an individual has value, but that individual often sees no actions come from that sentiment. And if someone thinks they provide no value and are not wanted, it seems logical to unburden everyone else.
It would be similar to how cats go off alone to die when they are sick.
Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients
#5>The soldier who hiked out on to the moor, lay down in the heather and overdosed. Émile Durkheim, the great sociologist, theorised as to why suicide is so common among military personnel – not simply because of the devastating effects of war, or because of their easy access to weapons, but because of the depersonalising effect of army training: “Military esprit can only be strong if the individual is self-detached, a…
I don't think rationality is a good way of looking at it. Rationality is defined over some goal, and there's no obvious goal here. The better way of looking at it is to say that the military teaches them to treat their own life as less valuable. Lives have no inherent value or disvalue, beyond what we apply to them, so this is neither rational or irrational. But the effect is that they are more willing to, as you say, "log off".
Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients
#6>The soldier who hiked out on to the moor, lay down in the heather and overdosed. Émile Durkheim, the great sociologist, theorised as to why suicide is so common among military personnel – not simply because of the devastating effects of war, or because of their easy access to weapons, but because of the depersonalising effect of army training: “Military esprit can only be strong if the individual is self-detached, a…
I think you are going in the right direction. Society needs to recognize that suicide must be some evolutionarily advantageous adaptation. Many people when pressed will say they think an individual has value, but that individual often sees no actions come from that sentiment. And if someone thinks they provide no value and are not wanted, it seems logical to unburden everyone else. It would be similar to how cats go…
Except that suicide burdens everyone around a person terribly.
Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients
#7>The soldier who hiked out on to the moor, lay down in the heather and overdosed. Émile Durkheim, the great sociologist, theorised as to why suicide is so common among military personnel – not simply because of the devastating effects of war, or because of their easy access to weapons, but because of the depersonalising effect of army training: “Military esprit can only be strong if the individual is self-detached, a…
One one hand, we have a growing body of research saying that almost nothing anybody does is rational, and that most "rational explanations" that people deliver are post-hoc rationalizations of something they did on a whim. The popular interpretation is that this represents evidence against free will, but that may be a little overblown. On the other hand, there is a parallel cultural trend of people arguing that suicide is rational, and that many suicidal patients are that way because they sat down and added up the utility of the various options. I guess my point is, when obesity drops to zero on the day that everybody realizes that it isn't rational to be fat, I'll start considering the possibility that people could "decide" to kill themselves.
Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients
#8>The soldier who hiked out on to the moor, lay down in the heather and overdosed. Émile Durkheim, the great sociologist, theorised as to why suicide is so common among military personnel – not simply because of the devastating effects of war, or because of their easy access to weapons, but because of the depersonalising effect of army training: “Military esprit can only be strong if the individual is self-detached, a…
Not sure why you’re downvoted because you asked a question with context from the article. For a bastion of nihilistic atheists that is HN, the lack of following the driving philosophy through is astounding. Why are people moralizing when the majority say that this existence is a fluke of an explosion? Seems hypocritical to me. It then again, why should I care when I look rationally at the situation and see humans are…
They have inadvertently invented their own philosophy. It's basic tenet is "don't miss out on things" - and by killing yourself you miss out on all the drunken parties and Tinder fucks.
Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients
#9I just wanted to say, if anyone is having a dark time, make an appointment with a doctor and ask them about Prozac. Unlike most antidepressants, the side effects don’t seem very noticeable.
I think there’s a sort of stigma against talking about mental health (except in the third person), but it’s one of those things that should probably change. Taking Prozac doesn’t mean you’re somehow broken. It’s like a crutch: why go without?
Yet it’s surprisingly easy to go without, due to stubbornness. It feels like admitting failure to go get medication. But why? That’s as absurd as feeling like it’s admitting failure to go get a cast, or a tooth filling.
It’s fuether compounded by the fact that most antidepressants have severe or annoying side effects. So I just wanted to throw out my one datapoint: it’s not always like that, and your life can feel much better.
EDIT: Okay, clearly I didn’t emphasize enough that everyone is different and responds differently to different medications. But I know at least two people reading this are going to use that as an excuse not to go to the doctor and try it for yourself. That’s why I’m writing this.
Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients
#10I just wanted to say, if anyone is having a dark time, make an appointment with a doctor and ask them about Prozac. Unlike most antidepressants, the side effects don’t seem very noticeable. I think there’s a sort of stigma against talking about mental health (except in the third person), but it’s one of those things that should probably change. Taking Prozac doesn’t mean you’re somehow broken. It’s like a crutch: why…
This reads like advertising copy.
Prozac has a number of potential side effects as well as needing commitment and a staged withdrawal.
This is a dangerous comment and should be burried.
edit: this isn't to say I don't think antidepressants are a fantastic tool; just that I don't think you should be going to your doctor and asking for a specific flavour of drugs because you heard about them on the internet. It's a really serious discussion - people should be going to their doctor and asking asking the possible (and best) solution to their personal circumstance.