The Suicidal Mind
By:
Edwin S. Shneidman
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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Description:
Suicide is an exclusively human response to extreme psychological pain, a desperate solution for the sufferer who can no longer see any alternatives. The Suicidal Mind brims with insight into the suicidal impulse and with helpful suggestions for counteraction methods. Dr. Edwin Shneidman presents a bold and simple premise: the main cause of suicide is psychological pain or "psychache" (sic-ak). Thus the key to preventing suicide is not so much the study of the structure of the brain, or the study of social statistics, or the study of mental diseases, as it is the direct study of human emotions and frustrated psychological needs. To treat a suicidal individual, we need to identify, address, and reduce the individual's psychache. Shneidman shares with the reader his knowledge, both as a clinician and researcher, of the psychological dramas that play themselves out in the suicidal mind through the exploration of three moving case studies. Throughout, Shneidman offers practical, explicit maneuvers to assist in treating a suicidal individual--steps that can be taken by concerned friends or family and professionals alike. In this landmark and elegantly written book, Shneidman provides the language, not only for understanding the suicidal mind, but for understanding ourselves. Anyone who has ever considered suicide, or knows someone who has, will find here a wealth of insights to help understand and to prevent suicide.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Customer Review: 2 out of 5
Spends a lot of time pointing out the obvious - I did a quick read of this book and I thought he spends a lot of time pointing out the obvious; really, suicide occurs due to "psychological Pain", what a shocker. I just didn't find it all that insightful. There were a few insights that made me think but not many.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Excellent, empathic contribution to society - This guy "gets" it. Rather than invalidating the patient by calling their experience a "chemical imbalance" and pushing meds, Shneidman empathically lays out why we (humans) arrive at self-destruction. This book won't help the suicidally depressed in the conventional "problem-solution," quick fix format that some would like. However, the "Psychological Pain Survey" can be self-administered, and is conducive to the formation of a thought process that will widen the tunnel view of depression, expediting the journey outward. Also, utilization of the "Murray Psychological Needs" index aids in the discovery of the roots of the specific individual's own suicidality. This frees them from their formerly blind pursuit of these needs, and arms them with a newfound awareness which allows them to seek their needs directly and consciously.
This book is not written in the conventional self-help format, but if examined studiously and desperately can offer so much more than convention ever could.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
An important book for family members of the mentally disturbed - Shneidman saves lives. He is a thanatologist: he studies death and specializes in suicide. He shares his decades of experience with his readers in this groundbreaking book.
If I could have read this material 14 years ago, I might have been able to save my mother's life. Instead, I depended on our local Department of Human Resources who sent out the police to check on my mother who I now know was suffering from some type of psychosis. She committed suicide two days after the police attempted to intervene. Their intervention caused her psychological frustrations (as outline in Shneidman's clusters of needs) mainly related to her self-image and her avoidance of shame/defeat/humilation/disgrace. To my mom in her diminished capacity, her story was out, and she could no longer hide her psychosis from her family. I wish I could have had the knowledge then that I have now; hindsight is 20/20.
Read this book if you have someone in your life who is mentally ill. You could save a life.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Keen insight into a difficult topic - When I first picked up this book, I hated it. I thought Dr. Shneidman was merely throwing out new terms to cover a topic which is often very difficult to discuss. However as I gave him time to develop his thought, I was drawn into his book, not only does he have a very clear understanding of suicidality and its surrounding causes, but he presents it in a very accessible manner. The case histories that he shares with the reader also serve to illustrate his ideas and to put a face on this often taboo topic.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Fascinating Book! - I've already leant it to two friends and they're buying copies of their own. Useful for consumers AND mental health professionals.
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