Inside The Mind of a Suicidal Individual: Understanding the Psychological Processes

Abstract

Suicide is one of the biggest public health challenges of our time, killing over 700,000 people worldwide every year. This research paper provides an extensive look at the psychological process that leads people to think and act in ways that cause them to contemplate or attempt to take their own lives. By synthesizing existing research within multiple theoretical frameworks, this paper addresses the cognitive, emotional and social factors of risk for suicide. The paper discusses three major theoretical perspectives: Beck's theory of hopelessness, Joiner's interpersonal theory of suicide, and the integrated motivational-voluntary model. Each of the frameworks offer different information of how the progression of suicidal ideation occurs and leads up to action. Additionally, this paper addresses social, economic and political aspects of suicide such as the impact of stigma, access to mental health care and barriers to treatment at an ecosystem level. Key findings include how suicide is seldom an event that arises from a single correlation but the consequence of a complex interaction between psychological pain, felt burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness and gained capability for self-harm. The paper concludes with evidence-based prevention strategies and recommendations on policy changes to decrease suicide rates. It is important to understanding these psychological processes in order to implement and create effective interventions and help save lives.