I know the title is a bit harsh. I'm finishing up my psychiatric rotation and will be doing my capstone in a psychiatric facility next semester. I fell in love with psych nursing but one thing has not been answered adequately for me:
Why are we against suicide?
I can understand if it someone who is new to the darkness of feeling suicidal, someone who is going through a "situational crisis", etc, but what about those that have had a lifetime of pain and suffering? Those that are homeless, have no family, friends, are addicts. What is the rationale for stepping in, hospitalizing them and encouraging them to keep on truckin'?
If they have no religious reason to stick around, then who are we to basically judge their coping as unhealthy, put them on a 1:1, and force them to keep going?
Here are a few thoughts from someone who was recently inpatient for suicidal ideation:
First, most people who are thinking of suicide don't really want to die; we simply want our pain to stop. If there is a way to make the pain better---even for a short time---I think it should be done. That also goes for anyone considered a "low-value" patient, e.g. homeless, addicted, severely mentally ill.
Second, I think our culture's way of viewing suicide as a selfish act needs to change. Many people who attempt suicide are indeed thinking about their families/friends when they get to that point, but it's because they think their loved ones would be better off without them. I know that's what I thought when I was contemplating using the gun in my dresser drawer. Yes, it's a twisted way of thinking, but when one is that far down the rabbit-hole, our brains lie to us!
I also believe our duty as nurses is to try to protect the sick from the consequences of their illness. Yes, patients can and should help themselves, but we don't judge the non-adherent diabetic or COPD patient as harshly as we do the mentally ill. Believe me, suicidal patients aren't in a position to decide what's best for themselves; that's why we put them in a locked facility where they can't harm themselves until such a time as they achieve stability (or as long as insurance or Medicaid will pay for it). I'm thankful that someone did that for me; a week away from my life on the outside made it possible for me to feel safe again, and then resume my appointed rounds.
I'm doing better now, but the nature of my illness is such that I will more than likely go through more such episodes. Would you give up on me and let me kill myself? Or would you try---again---to save me from myself?
I think this is a great question and a very important one to be addressed.
I feel if its situational depression with suicidal ideation( meaning if its a group of circumstance that could be fixed by intervention), suicide isnt a option and should be argued against.
However if its a chronic terminal illness or even a ongoing struggle to thrive, maybe then the option could be left to the individual.
Here's my point of view.: One of the basic things in man is the fight to stay alive. Unless the person has a terminal illness (or is very elderly with general poor health) and has now accepted the fact they will soon die, someone not having a desire to stay alive gives me a big red flag. In this situation, we assume they are not in their usual state of mind, and not in the position to make this kind of decision at the moment." A permanent solution to a temporary problem" is right. I believe life is something worth fighting for, whether in myself or in others. I believe that natural death has a lot of dignity to it. This culture being centered on the value of life, I believe is a good aspect of our culture, which is slowly being lost. I shiver to think what will happen if we lose this value altogether.
I find the idea of suicide as a selfish act interesting. I divorced my unsupportive, going no-where husband this year. It caused him horrendous pain. Now my kids have divorced parents. I fully believe this was a selfish act on my part, as I could have just sucked it up "for the kids", but if I'm going to be here I figured I deserve something better. But is it considered "not as selfish" because I am still alive? What if I had no kids and I divorced my husband and moved out of state and disappeared from this life here? How would that be any different than killing myself? Yet if I said that was my plan I would not be immediately hospitalized.
I've talked with a few people and I do not think it is all that uncommon for someone to just be done with life. I know a lot of people that have passive suicidal ideation. Maybe they won't do it today, tomorrow, or next year, but they are certainly okay with dying and have been for years. I don't think this is necessarily a mental illness. If someone said they wanted help to stop this thinking of course I would help, but if someone is certain they are just done and have put ample thought into it, why must we interfere?
I wonder how many people hospitalized for suicide attempts go on to be successful the second or third time around?
One thing I took away from my psych rotation was the message of several people I talked to. Being the student, they did not take me as a seriously as their nurse. I had many people say something to the tune of "I know what I have to say to get out of here". I just found that interesting.
Frankly I judge noncompliant diabetics and COPDers more so than psych patients with suicidal ideation. Persons with ideation care enough about family and friends to consider they would be better without them.
Noncompliant's often stress the family unit and the system with the disregard they show for their own health, as they also move towards suicide, just more slowly. I think a lot of these persons would also benefit from a psych consult.
Right? Nothing bugs me more than diabetics who eat whatever they want and don't pay attention to their blood sugar.
Nursing has (unfortunately) made me much less sympathetic towards those with a lot of physical health conditions. But on the flip side, I've been able to develop much more compassion for those suffering from mental health issues.
I don't know if I'm wrong here, but I don't think people with suicidal ideations are really themselves, at that particular point. I don't look at treating psych issues as eliminating an unfortunate aspect of a person's personality through medication or therapy or whatever else. To me, it's more trying to allow a person to become more of "themselves."
All of the religions of the world, to the best of my knowledge, teach that human life is precious and that it is to be protected. We live in a Judeo Christian society and we take care of the disabled and less fortunate as best we can. This is not the case in other parts of the world.
It was very beneficial for me to take a class on Religions of the World at a Catholic University. It helped me to appreciate the commonalities in religious philosophies and what it means to be human and have a conscience.
We're against it because there used to be a fairly universal belief in the western world that human life had a unique, intrinsic, undeniable value and that it was worth preserving and defending even at very high cost. Sadly the forces in our culture that want that changed are having increasing success.
SwampCat if you believe suicide is anything other than pathology and think it's acceptable behaviour you may be lacking in insight and or are depressed. I write that not with condemnation but with love. I to have recently been through a separation of a long relationship/w kids + other drama and I've needed all kinds of therapy (spirituality, resistance training, good diet, counselling, friends) to get me through and keep my health from deteriorating. Best wishes and look after yourself.
SwampCat if you believe suicide is anything other than pathology and think it's acceptable behaviour you may be lacking in insight and or are depressed.
If you think suicide can never be anything other than pathology, then it may be you who is lacking insight
I disagree that religions have always taught respect for individual lives above all else. Why, history is replete with church sanctioned killing. The bible is also full of accounts of God, himself, instructing the Isrealites to practice genocide.
I also disagree that society has a lower regard for life than in the past. I advise to remove rose-colored glasses and read a history book or two.
Farawyn
12,646 Posts
I would try again. *hugs*