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==Overview==
==Overview==
Suicide ([[Latin]] ''suicidium'', from ''sui caedere'', to kill oneself) is primarily the act of intentionally ending one's own life, though it is also used as a [[metaphor]] for the "willful destruction of one's self-interest" either as an individual or as a group.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://m-w.com/dictionary/suicide |title=Merriam-Webster OnLine |accessdate=2007-07-21}}</ref> Suicide may occur for a number of reasons, including [[depression (mood)|depression]], [[shame]], pain, financial difficulties, or other undesirable situations. Nearly one million people worldwide die by suicide annually.<ref>[http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/09/ab4b19da-5e47-471f-a26a-3b861a0395d8.html CIS: UN Body Takes On Rising Suicide Rates]</ref> There are an estimated 10 to 20 million attempted suicides every year.<ref>{{web cite |url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1489848 |title=Suicide and psychiatric diagnosis: a worldwide perspective |date=2002-10-01 |publisher=[[World Psychiatry]]}}</ref>
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among all children and adolescents in the United States. According to the American Society of Suicidology, suicide can be classified based on method employed and psychiatric behavior of person committed into 10 and 8 types. Common risk factors include family history of suicidal behavior, mental disorders such as major depression, substance use disorders, hospitalization or psychotic disorders, history of physical or sexual abuse, previous suicide attempt or exposure to suicide, gay, lesbian, or bisexual orientation, or transgender or gender non-conforming identity, biologic factors, access to firearms, alcohol and drug abuse, social stress, social isolation, adoption, emotional and cognitive factors.  Physical examination should be focused towards vital signs, level of consciousness and orientation, manifestations of toxidromes, signs of recent or remote suicide attempts, scars from cutting, bruises from hanging, signs of Physical or sexual abuse, characteristic bruising patterns or genital trauma, signs of substance abuse, track marks from intravenous drug use, nosebleeds or perioral blisters from inhalant use and signs of hyperthyroidism. Psychiatric evaluation is done by the clinicians with specialized training and experience in the psychiatric problems of children and adolescents or general medical emergency department clinicians. Psychiatric evaluation is done once the patient is medically stable. The mnemonic "MALPRACTICE" is used to ensure that all the areas for psychiatric evaluation are being covered. Effective medical management include hospitalization of high risk individuals and stabilizing. Effective psychotherapies for suicide prevention include [[cognitive behavioral therapy]], [[dialectical behavioral therapy]], [[family therapy]] and [[Psychotherapy|group psychothe]]. Antidepressants has no proven role in the acute management of the suicidal adolescent or child. The American Society of Suicidology recommends administration of appropriated medications for an underlying psychiatric disorder in pediatric patients hospitalized for suicidal ideation or behavior. There are no effective or concrete strategies in preventing suicides. However, American society of Sucidology brought up certain recommendations in identification of risk factors and warning signs to get aware of an individual at risk. American Society of Sucidology also came up with a mnemonic for warning signs 'IS PATH WARM".
 
Views on suicide have been influenced by cultural views on existential themes such as religion, honor, and the meaning of life. Most Western and some Asian religions—the [[Abrahamic religion]]s, [[Hinduism]]—consider suicide a dishonorable act; in the West it was regarded as a serious [[Legal views of suicide|crime]] and an [[sin|offense]] towards [[God]] due to religious belief in the [[sanctity of life]]. [[Japan]]ese views on honor and religion led to [[seppuku]], one of the most painful methods of suicide, to be respected as a means to atone for mistakes or failure or a form of protest during the [[samurai]] era. In the 20th century, suicide in the form of [[self-immolation]] has been used as a form of protest, and in the form of [[kamikaze]] and [[suicide bombing]] as a military or terrorist tactic. [[Sati (practice)|Sati]] was a Hindu [[funeral]] practice in which the [[widow]] would [[Self-immolation|immolate]] herself on her husband’s funeral [[pyre]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/news/words/general/020807_witn.shtml Indian woman commits sati suicide ]</ref>
 
Medically [[assisted suicide]] ([[euthanasia]], or the [[right to die]]) is a controversial [[ethics|ethical]] issue involving people who are [[terminal illness|terminally ill]], in extreme [[pain]], and/or have minimal [[quality of life]] through [[injury]] or [[illness]]. [[Self-sacrifice]] for others is not usually considered suicide, as the goal is not to kill oneself but to save another.
 
The predominant view of modern medicine is that suicide is a [[mental health]] concern, associated with psychological factors such as the difficulty of coping with [[clinical depression|depression]], inescapable [[suffering]] or [[fear]], or other [[mental illness|mental disorder]]s and pressures. Suicide is sometimes interpreted in this framework as a "cry for help" and attention, or to express [[despair]] and the wish to escape, rather than a genuine intent to die.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.euro.who.int/document/MNH/ebrief07.pdf |title=WHO Europe - Suicide Prevention | date=2005-01-15 |accessdate=2007-12-11 |publisher=[[World Health Organization]]}}</ref> Most people who attempt suicide do not complete suicide on a first attempt; those who later gain a history of repetitions are significantly more at risk of eventual completion.<ref>cite journalrlink = | coauthors = | year = 1988| month = September| title = The Epidemiology of Teen Suicide: An Examination of Risk Factors| journal = [[Journal of Clinical Psychiatry]]| volume = 49| issue = supp.| pages = 36&ndash;41| pmid = 3047106| url =|accessdate = 2006-04-12</ref>
 
===Historical Perspective===
Suicide has been committed by people from all walks of life since the beginning of known history. Among the [[List of famous suicides|famous who have taken their own lives]] are Socrates, Boudicca, Brutus, Mark Antony, Cleopatra VII of Egypt, Judas Iscariot, Hannibal, Nero, Virginia Woolf, Sadeq Hedayat, [[Sigmund Freud]], Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, Ernest Hemingway, Alan Turing, Sylvia Plath, Marina Tsvetaeva, Yukio Mishima, Hunter S. Thompson, Ludwig Boltzmann, Kurt Cobain, and Vincent van Gogh.
 
===Types of Suicide===
====Cult Suicide====
A cult suicide is a mass [[suicide]] by the members of a cult.
<ref>*"Suicide Terrorists: Are They Suicidal?" Ellen Townsend. ''Suicide & Life - Threatening Behavior''. New York: Feb 2007. Vol. 37, Iss. 1; pg. 35, 15 pgs: "There are some other examples of suicides involving group (e.g., cult suicides) and dyadic (e.g., suicide pacts) processes; but these are very rare."<BR>
*"Leadership races need a little drama"; Tim Harper. ''Toronto Star''. Toronto, Ont.: Apr 19, 2003. pg. F.02: "... a vote for Campbell was akin to the party drinking its Kool-Aid, a stunning reference to the mass cult suicide at Jonestown in Guyana."
*"Suicidal credo that came from the West" Sam Kiley. ''The Times''. London (UK): Mar 20, 2000. pg. 3:"Until the weekend, suicidal doomsday cults were seen by Africans as a decadent Western luxury. But the deaths of more than 230 ordinary Ugandans ranks as the second-largest cult suicide in recent times."</ref>  In some cases all, or nearly all members have committed suicide at the same time and place.  Groups which have committed such mass suicides include Heaven's Gate, Order of the Solar Temple, Peoples Temple (in the [[Jonestown]] incident) and the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God. In other cases, such as Filippians and the Taiping, a group has apparently supported mass suicide but without necessarily encouraging all members to participate.
 
====Euthanasia====
Euthanasia (from [[Ancient Greek]]: ''ευθανασία'', "good death"{{Ref_label|A|I|none}}) is the practice of ending the [[life]] of a human or animal who is incurably [[illness | ill]] in a [[Pain and nociception|painless]] or minimally painful way, for the purpose of limiting [[suffering]]. Laws around the world vary greatly with regard to euthanasia, and are constantly subject to change as cultural values shift and better [[palliative care]], or treatments become available. It is legal in some nations, while in others it may be [[crime|criminalized]].


Euthanasia can be conducted in various ways. In order to distinguish certain methods, more specific terminology may be used when discussing euthanasia.
== Classification ==
====Copycat Suicide====
According to the American Society of Suicidology, suicide can be classified based on method employed and psychiatric behavior of person committed into 10 and 8 types.
A copycat suicide is defined as a duplication or [[copycat]] of another [[suicide]] that the person attempting suicide knows about either from local knowledge or due to accounts or depictions of the original suicide on [[television]] and in other [[Mass media|media]]. Sometimes this is known as a '''Werther effect''', following the [[The Sorrows of Young Werther|Werther]] novel of [[Goethe]].


The well-known suicide serves as a model, in the absence of protective factors, for the next suicide. This is referred to as suicide contagion.<ref name="AbnormalPsychologyBook">{{cite book
== Epidemiology and demographics ==
  | last = Halgin
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among all children and adolescents in the United States. In the United States, the incidence rate of suicide among children aged 5 to 11 years was 1 per 1 million, between 2008 and 2012. Among adolescents, the suicide rate is highest for white males.
  | first = Richard P.
  | coauthors = Susan Whitbourne
  | title = Abnormal Psychology with MindMap II CD-ROM and PowerWeb
  | publisher = [[McGraw-Hill]]
  | date = 2006
  | pages = 62
  | month = January
  | id = ISBN 0-07-322872-9}}</ref> They occasionally spread through a [[school]] system, through a community, or in terms of a celebrity suicide wave, nationally. This is called a suicide cluster.<ref name="AbnormalPsychologyBook"/> Examples of celebrities whose suicides have inspired suicide clusters include the American musician Kurt Cobain and the Japanese musicians Hide and Yukiko Okada.


To prevent this type of suicide, it is customary in some countries for the media to discourage suicide reports except in special cases.
== Risk factors ==
Common risk factors include family history of suicidal behavior, mental disorders such as major depression, substance use disorders, hospitalization or psychotic disorders, history of physical or sexual abuse, previous suicide attempt or exposure to suicide, gay, lesbian, or bisexual orientation, or transgender or gender non-conforming identity, biologic factors, access to firearms, alcohol and drug abuse, social stress, social isolation, adoption, emotional and cognitive factors. Mnemonic for identification of risk factors "IS PATH WARM".


====Familicide====
== Screening ==
A familicide is a type of [[murder]] or [[murder-suicide]] in which at least one spouse and one or more children are killed.  In some cases all of the family members' lives are taken. <ref>Familicide : The Killing of Spouse and Children http://psych.mcmaster.ca/dalywilson/FamilicideSpouseChildren.pdf</ref>
The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) have declared that there is insufficient evidence to determine the benefits of screening for suicide risk in the general population of United States adolescents having no prioe history of mental disorders or previous suicide attempts.


Of 909 cases of mass murder (defined as 4 victims within a 24 hour period) in the US from 1900 to 2000, more than half occurred within an immediate family. So that although the total number of familicide cases are relatively rare, they are the most common form of mass killings. However, statistical data is difficult to establish due to reporting discrepancies.<ref name=sfexam> Berton, Justin. [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/20/EXPLAINER.TMP Familicide: Experts say family murder-suicides, though rare, are most common mass killing]. ''San Francisco Examiner'', June 20, 2007</ref>
== Physical examination ==
Physical examination should be focused towards vital signs, level of consciousness and orientation, manifestations of toxidromes, signs of recent or remote suicide attempts, scars from cutting, bruises from hanging, signs of Physical or sexual abuse, characteristic bruising patterns or genital trauma, signs of substance abuse, track marks from intravenous drug use, nosebleeds or perioral blisters from inhalant use and signs of hyperthyroidism.


Familicide differs from mass murder in that the murder kills family members or loved ones rather than anonymous people. This has a different psychodynamic and psychiatric significance, but the distinction is not always made. <ref>Malmquist, Carl P., MD. ''Homicide: A Psychiatric Perspective.''  Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, 1996, ISBN 978-0880486903</ref> 
== Laboratory findings ==
Commonly performed screening laboratory tests include complete blood count, serum chemistry panels, urinalysis, thyroid stimulating hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin, urine toxicology screen for drugs of abuse, aspirin, and acetaminophen.


A study of 30 cases in Ohio found that most of the killings were motivated by a parent's desire to stop their children's suffering.<ref name=sfexam />
== Psychiatric evaluation ==
Psychiatric evaluation is done by the clinicians with specialized training and experience in the psychiatric problems of children and adolescents or general medical emergency department clinicians. Psychiatric evaluation is done once the patient is medically stable. The mnemonic "MALPRACTICE" is used to ensure that all the areas for psychiatric evaluation are being covered.


In Australia, a study was done of seven cases of filicide followed by suicide in which marital separation followed by custody and access disputes were identified as an issue.  Some common factors such as marital discord, unhappiness, domestic violence, sexual abuse, threats of harm to self or others were found in varying degrees. It was not clear what could be done in terms of prevention.<ref name=johnson>Johnson, Carolyn. ''Familicide and Custody Disputes - Dispelling The Myths.'' University of Western Australia,  [http://www.community.wa.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/06788E97-F3E8-4B83-8D71-335F8FB0AA60/0/DCDRPT FamilicideAbstract_CarolynJohnson.pdf]</ref>
== Treatment ==


====Forced Suicide====
=== Medical Management ===
Forced suicide is a method of execution where the victim is given the choice of committing [[suicide]] or facing an alternative they perceive as worse, such as suffering [[torture]]; having friends or family members imprisoned, tortured or killed; or losing [[honor]], position or means.
Effective medical management include hospitalization of high risk individuals and stabilizing.


====Internet Suicide====
=== Psychotherapy ===
An Internet suicide pact (cybersuicide pact) is a [[suicide pact]] made between individuals who meet on the [[Internet]].
Effective psychotherapies for suicide prevention include [[cognitive behavioral therapy]], [[dialectical behavioral therapy]], [[family therapy]] and [[Psychotherapy|group psychotherapy]].


====Mass Suicide====
=== Pharmacotherapy ===
Mass suicide occurs when a number<!--"a number" is ridiculously vague -- is there a way to be more specific?--> of people kill themselves together and/or for the same reason.
Antidepressants has no proven role in the acute management of the suicidal adolescent or child. The American Society of Suicidology recommends administration of appropriated medications for an underlying psychiatric disorder in pediatric patients hospitalized for suicidal ideation or behavior.


===Epidemiology and Demographics===
=== Prevention ===
Studies show a high incidence of [[psychiatric disorder]]s in suicide victims at the time of their death with the total figure ranging from 98%<ref name= "BetoloteJM2004">Bertolote JM, Fleischmann A, De Leo D, Wasserman D.
There are no effective or concrete stratagies in preventing suicides. However, American society of Sucidology brought up certain recommendations in identification of risk factors and warning signs to get aware of an individual at risk. American Society of Sucidology also came up with a mnemonic for warning signs 'IS PATH WARM".
(2004) Psychiatric diagnoses and suicide: revisiting the evidence. ''Crisis.'', 25(4):147-55. PMID 15580849</ref>
to 87.3%<ref name= "Arsenault-LapierreG2004"> Arsenault-Lapierre G, Kim C, Turecki G. (2004) Psychiatric diagnoses in 3275 suicides: a meta-analysis. ''BMC Psychiatry'', Nov 4;4:37. PMID 15527502</ref> with [[mood disorder]]s and [[substance abuse]] being the two most common.  In [[schizophrenia]] suicide can be triggered by either the depression that is common with this disorder, or in response to command [[hallucination|auditory hallucinations]]. Suicide among people suffering from [[bipolar disorder]] is often an impulse, which is due to the sufferer's extreme mood swings (one of the main symptoms of bipolar disorder), or also possibly an outcome of [[delusions]] occurring during an episode of [[mania]] or [[psychotic depression]]. Severe depression is considered a terminal illness due to the likelihood of suicide when left untreated.<ref> Shuster, JL.(2000) Can depression be a terminal illness? Journal of Palliative Medicine. Winter;3(4):493-5. </ref>


==References==
==References==
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Latest revision as of 00:20, 30 July 2020

Suicide Microchapters

Home

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Overview

Classification

Epidemiology and Demographics

Risk Factors

Screening

Physical Examination

Laboratory Findings

Psychiatric evaluation

Treatment

Medical Therapy

Psychotherapy

Pharmacotherapy

Prevention

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among all children and adolescents in the United States. According to the American Society of Suicidology, suicide can be classified based on method employed and psychiatric behavior of person committed into 10 and 8 types. Common risk factors include family history of suicidal behavior, mental disorders such as major depression, substance use disorders, hospitalization or psychotic disorders, history of physical or sexual abuse, previous suicide attempt or exposure to suicide, gay, lesbian, or bisexual orientation, or transgender or gender non-conforming identity, biologic factors, access to firearms, alcohol and drug abuse, social stress, social isolation, adoption, emotional and cognitive factors. Physical examination should be focused towards vital signs, level of consciousness and orientation, manifestations of toxidromes, signs of recent or remote suicide attempts, scars from cutting, bruises from hanging, signs of Physical or sexual abuse, characteristic bruising patterns or genital trauma, signs of substance abuse, track marks from intravenous drug use, nosebleeds or perioral blisters from inhalant use and signs of hyperthyroidism. Psychiatric evaluation is done by the clinicians with specialized training and experience in the psychiatric problems of children and adolescents or general medical emergency department clinicians. Psychiatric evaluation is done once the patient is medically stable. The mnemonic "MALPRACTICE" is used to ensure that all the areas for psychiatric evaluation are being covered. Effective medical management include hospitalization of high risk individuals and stabilizing. Effective psychotherapies for suicide prevention include cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, family therapy and group psychothe. Antidepressants has no proven role in the acute management of the suicidal adolescent or child. The American Society of Suicidology recommends administration of appropriated medications for an underlying psychiatric disorder in pediatric patients hospitalized for suicidal ideation or behavior. There are no effective or concrete strategies in preventing suicides. However, American society of Sucidology brought up certain recommendations in identification of risk factors and warning signs to get aware of an individual at risk. American Society of Sucidology also came up with a mnemonic for warning signs 'IS PATH WARM".

Classification

According to the American Society of Suicidology, suicide can be classified based on method employed and psychiatric behavior of person committed into 10 and 8 types.

Epidemiology and demographics

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among all children and adolescents in the United States. In the United States, the incidence rate of suicide among children aged 5 to 11 years was 1 per 1 million, between 2008 and 2012. Among adolescents, the suicide rate is highest for white males.

Risk factors

Common risk factors include family history of suicidal behavior, mental disorders such as major depression, substance use disorders, hospitalization or psychotic disorders, history of physical or sexual abuse, previous suicide attempt or exposure to suicide, gay, lesbian, or bisexual orientation, or transgender or gender non-conforming identity, biologic factors, access to firearms, alcohol and drug abuse, social stress, social isolation, adoption, emotional and cognitive factors. Mnemonic for identification of risk factors "IS PATH WARM".

Screening

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) have declared that there is insufficient evidence to determine the benefits of screening for suicide risk in the general population of United States adolescents having no prioe history of mental disorders or previous suicide attempts.

Physical examination

Physical examination should be focused towards vital signs, level of consciousness and orientation, manifestations of toxidromes, signs of recent or remote suicide attempts, scars from cutting, bruises from hanging, signs of Physical or sexual abuse, characteristic bruising patterns or genital trauma, signs of substance abuse, track marks from intravenous drug use, nosebleeds or perioral blisters from inhalant use and signs of hyperthyroidism.

Laboratory findings

Commonly performed screening laboratory tests include complete blood count, serum chemistry panels, urinalysis, thyroid stimulating hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin, urine toxicology screen for drugs of abuse, aspirin, and acetaminophen.

Psychiatric evaluation

Psychiatric evaluation is done by the clinicians with specialized training and experience in the psychiatric problems of children and adolescents or general medical emergency department clinicians. Psychiatric evaluation is done once the patient is medically stable. The mnemonic "MALPRACTICE" is used to ensure that all the areas for psychiatric evaluation are being covered.

Treatment

Medical Management

Effective medical management include hospitalization of high risk individuals and stabilizing.

Psychotherapy

Effective psychotherapies for suicide prevention include cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, family therapy and group psychotherapy.

Pharmacotherapy

Antidepressants has no proven role in the acute management of the suicidal adolescent or child. The American Society of Suicidology recommends administration of appropriated medications for an underlying psychiatric disorder in pediatric patients hospitalized for suicidal ideation or behavior.

Prevention

There are no effective or concrete stratagies in preventing suicides. However, American society of Sucidology brought up certain recommendations in identification of risk factors and warning signs to get aware of an individual at risk. American Society of Sucidology also came up with a mnemonic for warning signs 'IS PATH WARM".

References

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