Comments | owingnobody: attn: Dr. Reid

owingnobody

attn: Dr. Reid

Mar 25, 2010 00:45

Private to Dr. Reid

Hello, Dr. Reid. I think we've spoken before-- my name is Bod. And, well, I had a question, and I wasn't sure who to ask, but I figured that if anyone might know the answer, it would be you. (You did mention psychology somewhere in your list of degrees, didn't you? Plus, considering your job, you must know a thing or two about ( Read more... )

Comments 4

Private ssa_dr_reid March 25 2010, 20:22:07 UTC

Yes, I do have a BA in Psychology. Though I don't remember telling you that, but then again, I don't remember the first two weeks of March either. What is your question?

Re: Private owingnobody March 26 2010, 02:07:06 UTC

...why do people commit suicide?

I don't mean in specific; I mean, in general. Is there some sort of... thing that drives people to do it? I... this is an awkward question, isn't it.

Last fall, I was in a musical, and the main character of the show killed himself because he felt like no one would accept him as he was-- because he couldn't accept himself as he was. And it got to the point where it didn't matter that there were people he hurt, people who loved and cared about him, he felt so alone and overwhelmed by despair that he couldn't handle it anymore and overdosed.

...is there something about certain people's personalities that make them more or less likely to do something like that, if they felt like there was no other option?

And if someone does something like that once, how likely is it that it will happen again?

Re: Private ssa_dr_reid March 26 2010, 16:28:25 UTC

I really don't need this, not right now.

First of all, if you need help, call someone right away. Even if you just need to talk to someone. Do you want to meet for coffee or something?

Most suicides in modern, developed countries are linked to mental health disorders, particularly depression and substance abuse. You said the character overdosed, implying that he had access to drugs already. Is this accurate? Though depression and substance abuse are the two most common, people with schizophrenia, gender identity disorder, eating disorders, and borderline personality disorder also have a significant amount of suicides and suicide attempts connected to them. People with previous attempts are much more likely to commit suicide than the general population.

Re: Private owingnobody March 26 2010, 19:58:27 UTC

Oh, I don't want to inconvenience you, especially if you're busy. And it's not for me-- I'm fine. I just... someone I'm close to has... a history, let's say. And nothing has really happened, but after everything that happened at the beginning of the month, I... I got worried that something might, and it made me think... maybe I should know what to look for, or what I could do, if anything did happen.

I mean, I can hope that the last time, the things that drove him to it were family pressure and a feeling of being trapped by his circumstances, and neither thing is a factor anymore, so maybe this isn't even something that I should worry about. But if it is caused by some other factor, then I have some research to do.

Thanks so much!