Anyone can become vulnerable to suicide. Join us this September as we participate in national suicide awareness month and learn how we can each do our part in combating suicide.
Suicide is, perhaps, the heaviest topic we will ever deal with on our blog. As you know, suicide is the tragedy which occurs when someone ends their own life. Many misconceptions about suicide pervade contemporary discourse on suicide; the misconception that suicide is a new phenomena is a relatively common belief, one that likely stems in the broader belief that older times were simpler times and that only in the modern day could the world be so harsh or cruel. This is an example of a logical fallacy, sometimes called an appeal to tradition or the golden age fallacy, in the way we see the world. Historians and anthropological scholars know full well that suicide is not novel, it is intrinsic to human culture. Written records exist of even ancient celebrities committing suicide, like Empedocles, the ancient Greek philosopher who threw himself into a volcano around the year 434 B.C (2). Further evidence exists in our culture right down to our stories, the threads of humanity that weave the tapestry of civilization. The Romeo and Juliet story is a tragic Shakespearean adaptation of a far older narrative about love and loss. Pyramus and Thisbe were the original Romeo and Juliet, two Bablyonian lovers who were fated never to realize their relationship. The earliest version of the their story is part of a series of poems called Metamorphoses, written by Ovid and first published in the year 8 A.D. Clearly, there is something about suicide that sticks in the psyche of human beings- it is an ancient adversary of our species.
Another common misconception about suicide is that only people who have severe mental illness commit suicide (5). In another light, in our culture we often associate suicide with adolescence or youth and think of it as a threat which people grow out of the path of. Much scientific effort has been expended in order to determine who is most at risk of suicide, why they are at risk, and what can be done to help the vulnerable. The conclusion of those efforts have been that everyone is vulnerable to some degree, and that while some demographics may be more vulnerable than others, no one is truly safe (3,4). In the state of Alabama, suicide has been on a steady rise over the last decade (suicide mortalities jumped 22% from 2011 to 2015 alone) (1). In Alabama, middle aged adults are statistically the most vulnerable out of all age demographics. This is a heavy thing to take in, but pause for a moment and think- the people around you who you expect to be the most capable, the strongest, and the most resilient, are possibly the most vulnerable to tragedy. That means that we as a community, as a culture, need to be sure that we look out for one another. We owe it to one another to put thought and effort into the mental well-being of ourselves and our neighbors because suicide impacts all of us.
Suicide is part of our reality, and it is indiscriminate in who it impacts. Do not think for a second that suicide is a trend or that you or someone you know is too strong to become vulnerable. Suicide exists and always has, but we can do our part to curb the trend, to make it a thing of the past. If you feel that you are alone or you cannot seek help, take a second to breathe and know that we are here to support you. We understand what we're up against, and we believe in our people. We know that each and every person has the strength to win their fight, and sometimes they just need the right tools or a sheltered place to rest. If you or someone you know struggles with mental health issues, please call our office to schedule an appointment with one of our licensed therapists at 256-497-1790. If you struggle with suicidal thoughts, please call the national suicide and crisis hotline at 998.
1. Alabama Vital Statistics - Alabama Department of Public Health. (n.d.). https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/healthstats/assets/avs2020.pdf
2. Kingsley, K. S., & Parry, R. (2020, April 7). Empedocles. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/empedocles/
3. Large M, Ryan C, Walsh G, Stein-Parbury J, Patfield M. Nosocomial suicide. Australas Psychiatry. 2014;22(2):118–21.
4. Nielssen O, Wallace D, Large M. Pokorny’s complaint: the insoluble problem of the overwhelming number of false positives generated by suicide risk assessment. BJPsych Bull. 2017;41(1):18–20
5. Pridmore, S., Ahmadi, J., & Pridmore, W. (2019, April). Two mistaken beliefs about suicide. Iranian journal of psychiatry. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6702281/
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