suicide

Adrienne Thomas

Prof. Lauren Fletcher

ENC 1101

10 November 2014

Problem Analysis: Suicide

What causes a person to want to commit suicide? One way of understanding why a person would commit suicide is to not only explore his or her mental state, but to examine the social factors that may have influenced the person. Some people argue that suicide is a selfish act since it ends the issues for the person. For those who are left behind, survivors of suicide victims, suicide is quite devastating. (Hawton K, van Heeringen, K). To voluntarily end one's own life is incomprehensible for most of society in theory, especially for those who have not experienced extreme hardships throughout their lifetime. However, psychological disorders (i.e., severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and anorexia nervosa), incarceration, being exposed to suicidal behavior, taking antidepressant medications, and a history of being abused such as bullying are some of the motivating factors that increase the risk of suicide.

(Lewiecki, E Michael; Miller, Sara A.)

Depression that is left untreated is the number one cause of suicide. It has been shown that 90 percent of people who commit suicide suffer from severe depression or another diagnosable mental or substance abuse disorder (Paris, J). People who commit suicide due to a mental health condition are more likely to attempt suicide than the general population. In addition, some people who suffer from mental health conditions tend to use alcohol and/or drugs to relieve or self-medicate themselves, but the depressive effects that alcohol and drugs have on the brain can intensify depression and alter a person's judgment. (Gould, M., Greenberg, T., Velting, D., Shaffer, D).These substances can interfere with the ability to think clearly and make healthy decisions.

There are FDA- approved...