| Letter to the Editor - Suicide leaves complicated trail |
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The following letter to the editor appeared in the Saturday, September 6th St. Louis Post Dispatch: Suicide leaves complicated trail In "Attempts at suicide can take big toll on witnesses, experts say" (Aug. 26), Joseph M. Rothberg is badly informed and sadly misguided. I take exception to several of his comments: — That people who witnessed suicide attempts "may be in as much danger of emotional trauma as loved ones left behind" is a statement that fails to recognize the often overwhelming and complicated grief, trauma, stigma, guilt and loss experienced by loved ones of people who take their own lives -- their lives are changed dramatically and permanently. Witnesses of suicide attempts experience trauma, but not the horror, shock and pain of discovering that your child, parent, sibling or best friend died by suicide. — To label the taking of one's own life as a "successful suicide" implies that a person's intent was to "achieve" in this endeavor. To die by one's own hand is to "complete suicide," not succeed. — Suicide is surrender, giving up hope, not "a failed cry for help." Suicide comes out of the need to end psychological pain, marked by hopelessness and despair. To describe it as a failed cry for help minimizes the depth of pain that a person who has thoughts of suicide can be enduring. There is help for people who have lost someone to suicide: 314-647-3100. If you're having thoughts about suicide, call 314-647-HELP. Susan M. Self | Richmond Heights Director, Provident's Life Crisis Services |
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