Suicide prevention: large scale and small details | Hacker News Reader

Suicide prevention: large scale and small details

thelancet.com

53 pointsDanBC31 comments

People on HN who disclose suicidal intent are frequently told, on HN and elsewhere, to seek help.

That's correct, it's a medical emergency and those people deserve help.

But it's also important to remember that suicide prevention is struggling to find effective evidence based interventions, and that some interventions may increase risk of harm.

> But it's also important to remember that suicide prevention is struggling to find effective evidence based interventions, and that some interventions may increase risk of harm.

Do we know that for sure? Is it possible that suicide rates would have exploded without current intervention methods?

One major issue with suicide prevention is there is a lot of focus on "don't do it" and too little focus on "let's fix the cause". So for a lot of people, the cause might be their local communities' religion, which may also mean that the only available solution is not evidence based, let alone a solution.

> The Lancet Psychiatry aims to avoid the excess of certainty currently afflicting the world.

Awesome opening line.

Maybe instead of physically trying to stop these people from killing themselves, we should try to make them want to live. It is the only humane answer anyway.

Society needs to be more inclusive. People aren't problems that need to be treated. They need to feel a part of a large, functioning whole.

I have a similar view, but with a slightly different angle. This is largely conjecture, but it seems to me that in the modern age, as our vantage point has expanded due to cultural and technological development, the bonds between individuals have become diluted, and we haven't figured out how to fully respond to that.

I would also make a case for a bit of a global existential crisis, as humanity has begun to finally understand the true vastness of the universe, in which we are an infinitesimally small flicker.

Heh, so the planet is having a quarter life crisis?

I'm not making fun of this it just sounds funny, and I'm sure the always connected nature does have a large impact. Before, "keeping up with the Joneses" meant a fairly small neighborhood community. Now you can see how you stack up globally instantly to people world wide and I imagine it's hard to not feel a bit lost in the face of everyone looking like they're living the life, constantly one post at a time.

Consolidating that without there being a backdrop of "it's a magazine" or "it's just advertising" probably has some sort of significant impact. It's amazing people can browse Facebook endlessly without feeling a little like they're missing out on something.

I don't really agree. I think inclusivity is actually part of the problem - when society welcomes anyone and everyone, people sometimes end up feeling alone or alienated because they aren't around people like themselves, who they share a common culture or upbringing with. This leads to less of a sense of belonging and community among people at large (not just depressed people), which leads to a more suspicious and distrustful atmosphere in general.

This can cut both ways. Take for example an introvert who lives in the world where being extrovert is valued and being introvert is looked upon as some illness. Effort of being "more inclusive" either by the person themselves or by those around them can have the opposite effect. Maybe society should be more accepting not more inclusive?

There's a difference between inclusion and force. Acceptance and inclusion need to go hand in hand.

I agree with you, but I don't think (modern American) society is in a position to make that change. We don't live in a system designed to view people that way.

This is untested to my knowledge, but I feel like the best prevention for suicide is mentorship...that every teen has someone they're attached to.

Talking to someone that understands where you're coming from and what you're feeling I think is helpful.....the feeling of being utterly alone and completely misunderstood in the universe can weigh heavily on the depressed psyche.

Just someone safe to talk to would be a good start. Maybe if students had an anonymous, easily accessible access to a therapist.

I think talking to people who are not so close can help; People who will not judge, nor increase the weight of responsibility that is living. In addition, of course, a medical follow-up; But the first step should always be to have an opportunity to talk.

We are also seeing the longest extended economic depression now this has lasted longer than the Great Depression of the 1930s, we have no WPA nothing to soft the economic blows, foodstamps are being eliminated so that poor people will be forced to steal to survive and risking landing in a Jeff Sessions owned private prison, the level if stress we are placing on working people is historically unprecedented.

> the level if stress we are placing on working people is historically unprecedented.

Ever heard of that thing called slavery ? it was quite popular for while until not so long ago.

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