Suicide: Key Points of Caring High-risk Patients

There are so many factors that can make anyone to set up his/her mind to commit suicide. It may be his or her stressful day to day life, it may be repeated failure in examination, it may be being unable to buy new things or simply it may be the age related hormonal imbalance which can drive one to be suicidal.

One of the important factors contributing suicide is hopelessness. In this condition, a person has no hope or no wish and he personally thinks that there is no need of his/her being alive. This emotional state is experienced by almost all patients and it is really important to assess regularly the level of hopelessness in patients with suicidal tendencies. Some specific things that the person does:

• The person talks frequently about death.
• The person thinks life is too cheap and meaningless.
• Trying to hide potentially harmful items like knife, keys, spoons etc.
• Giving away his belonging.
• Making will or getting his/her legal & financial affairs in order etc.

• Psychiatric Disorder:: Such as Chronic anxiety disorder, panic disorder, mood swings, increasing mental stress etc.
• Organic Disorder: Such as chronic illness, metabolic & endocrine dysfunction, neoplastic disorders etc.
• Developmental Anomalies: Developmental anomalies such as imperfect limb, bad-looks etc may cause a person to feel himself inferior in respect of other and may lead him/her to commit suicide.
• Neurochemical Imbalance: A disturbance in neurotransmitter release by the central nervous system may cause depression disorder making one mentally vulnerable and thus leading him/ her to commit suicide.
• Alcohol Abuse
• Drug Abuse: Narcotic analgesic, Barbiturates, Chemotherapeutic drugs etc.

Caring for a patient who is depressed and susceptible to commit suicide is very tough. It takes time, tact and energy. It also requires an awareness of one’s own vulnerability to feeling of despair that can stem from interacting with a depressed patient. So, the patient should be guided as follows:

• Help him to set realistic goals.
• Encourage the patient to promote feeling of self-worth by asserting his/her opinions and making decisions.
• Try to assess his/her suicide potential and in respect to that, take precautions and provide safety.
• Make sure the proper nutritional supply to the patient.
• Provide proper environment so that the person can have rest.
• keep the environment free from stress and excessive stimulations such as excess light, sound, vibration etc
• Perform proper diagnostic check up to find out whether any hormonal or biochemical imbalance is causing this mental disturbance or not.
• Provide proper counseling and follow up by Physician and Psychiatrist.
• Be alert for in-hospital suicide attempts, which typically occur when there’s a low staff-to-patient ratio- between shifts, during evening and night shift or when a critical event such as a code draws attention away from the patient.

Depressed person or person trying to commit suicide needs emotional support, proper counseling, adequate nutrition and proper environment. A keen eye on providing this is helpful to bring them back to life.