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Suicide Outside the Frame of Mental Illness: Exploring Suicidal Behaviors in Global and Cultural Contexts

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Global Mental Health Ethics

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Abstract

Close to one million people worldwide die by suicide each year which accounts for more than all armed-conflict, war, and other forms of interpersonal violence combined (World Health Organization. Suicide data. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suicideprevent/en/, 2019, Nock MK, Borges G, Ono Y. Global perspectives on suicidal behavior. In: Nock M, Nock MK, Borges G, Ono Y, editors. Suicide: global perspectives from the WHO world mental health surveys. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012a). This means that one is more likely to die by their own hand than someone else’s (Nock MK, Borges G, Ono Y. Global perspectives on suicidal behavior. In: Nock M, Nock MK, Borges G, Ono Y, editors. Suicide: global perspectives from the WHO world mental health surveys. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012a). While suicidal behaviors are typically thought of as a combination of a mental illness plus a stressful life event, not all mental disorders present with suicidal ideation and not all stressful life events lead to suicidal thoughts. This chapter will explore the various human motivations towards suicidal behaviors that do not necessarily fit into the frame of mental illness in global society both historically and currently and the ethical implications. There are numerous motivations for suicidal behaviors across cultures including but not limited to honor, shame, humiliation, preservation of dignity, political motivations, protest, and more. Genuine curiosity and nonjudgmental inquiry about how suicide serves as an escape from an unbearable affliction, regardless of our objective judgment of the affliction, will improve our ability as clinicians to assess risk, explore other avenues of action, and mobilize hope.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Rida Malick & James L. Griffith

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  1. Rida Malick
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  2. James L. Griffith
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Correspondence to Rida Malick .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Allen R. Dyer

  2. Division of Global Mental Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Brandon A. Kohrt

  3. Department of Behavioral Health, Saint Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, DC, USA

    Philip J. Candilis

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Malick, R., Griffith, J.L. (2021). Suicide Outside the Frame of Mental Illness: Exploring Suicidal Behaviors in Global and Cultural Contexts. In: Dyer, A.R., Kohrt, B.A., Candilis, P.J. (eds) Global Mental Health Ethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66296-7_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66296-7_9

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