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options4recovery
It being highly unlikely that suicide triggers differ from one English speaking country to another. It is likely that
a list from any one country should be valid for all other countries too. This being so, the following list of the main suicide triggers was taken from the Canadian Association
for Suicide Prevention.
Unbearable Psychological Pain: The common trigger for suicide is unbearable
pain. A deep anguish in which the person feels especially hopeless and helpless.
- Narrow Thinking: Tunnel vision or rigid thinking, is common and one of the deadliest
aspects of the suicidal state, the individual sees suicide as the one and only solution for their current difficulties. They
think everything is hopeless and things will never get better.
- Ambivalence: The suicidal person is deeply ambivalent - he or she wants both
to live and to die.
- Mental Illness: About 90% of suicidal people have a psychiatric disorder, the
most common being depression or psychosis. Suicidality is not a mental illness, but suicidal people are often suffering from
a mental illness.
- Sense and Vulnerability: The suicidal person often feels very vulnerable, even
fragile, and lacks a positive view of themselves and a sense of personal strength.
- Problem Relationships: The suicidal person often feels alone and cut off
from others.They may have experienced conflict and rejection from others. They may think that they have been dishonourable
or failed family, friends, society etc
- Loss: An experience of loss, or concern about anticipated loss (for example, spouse leaving, fired from a job, ill health, social embarrassment or humiliation) is
often a trigger for suicide. Research suggests that those who react with anger or aggression may be more at risk of
suicide.
- Escape: Suicide is seen as an escape from what feels hopeless and unbearable.
Knowing what these major triggers are (although informative) does not help us to handle the emotional fallout.
The focus of this particular website is the period when the suicidal crisis has passed. Or possibly, before one
occurs. At this point the real battle begins. It is one thing to 'diffuse' a suicidal crisis - it is another to resolve it.
This involves facing and resolving those haunting, underlying issues which (because they are unresolved) resulted in
the suicidal crisis in the first place.
In this difficult and unnerving situation we only have two options and both are based upon FEAR.
Firstly we have FEAR = Fear Everything And Run. Or FEAR = Face Everything And Recover. The consequences of doing nothing could return us to yet another suicidal
crisis. Clearly, the time has come to do the healthy thing... face everything
and recover.
There are a number of factors which appear to be present in all successful suicides.
Not social issues such as age, income, marital status, employment, relationships etc. But the emotional issues
of thoughts and feelings. To those of us who experience them - these feelings are very real.
They can play havoc with your thinking processes and keep you awake at night. They need to be dealt with.
Simply ignoring or dismissing them won't make them go away. By facing them we acknowledge them. This affirmation gives
them form - they are no longer surpressed to wreak havoc in our unconcious. By dragging them out into the open we
can deal with them, but they will probably remain with us forever in the form of an ever-present, but fading memory.
The purpose of this anti-suicide toolbox is to provide the tools by which it is possible to diffuse the issues which
can (and all too often do) result in acts of suicide.
Create your own emergency plan.
Apparently, a large number of depression-related
suicides are reported to take place within the first three major depressive episodes. This is said to be significant
because after three episodes a person learns that such crises are temporary and really do pass. Albeit only for a period.
Knowing that these episodes will eventually pass,
individuals are much more unlikely to act on suicidal impulses. Indeed, these impulsive acts are said to drop significantly
once this lesson has been learnt. With this in mind, it is important to know what triggers these episodes.
Journaling can be of great assistance in providing you with an accurate list of your
warning signs.
Once you have identified your triggers you can devise a list of things to do to avoid or diffuse these triggers. This
done you can then use this information to outline what needs to be done in times of crisis.
Developing
these personal emergency plans seems to be a very useful precaution. Not only would this plan contain a
list of your warning signs. It could also list every possible course of action that you could
take if you feel yourself slipping into suicidal thoughts. Your coping strategies etc. What you want others to do, and
what you don't want others to do.
It should also contain vital contact information of your
support team's telephone numbers. Including mobile numbers. Other contact information for family, friends, supporters and
others. Most importantly your plan should contain a clear and full medical diagnosis or description – including details of any medications.
Almost
as important for those in countries where treatment appears to be dependant upon Health Insurance - have your documents ready.
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