Suicide myths: from stigma to normalized debate

The stigma of suicide in our culture begins in Greece, where suicide was considered an impious act towards the gods and which also deprived the community of one of its members. Subsequently, Rome would collect this legacy and strictly prohibit suicide.

Although the first Christian communities somewhat tolerated suicide, the church, beginning with Saint Augustine, expressly condemns it considering it a self-murder and a clear violation of the fifth commandment, "do not you will kill”. Suicide is a sin and the suicide is a sinner.

In the Middle Ages this hatred towards suicides reached atrocious extremes, dragging his body after death, harassing him in a thousand and one ways and above all, denying him burial.

With the Renaissance, the weight of the religious idea of ​​sin lightened and the notion of suicide as a personal choice began to make its way, but always connecting with psychopathological alterations.

From the 18th century, suicide became secularized and definitively decriminalized, but it remained inextricably linked to mental illness. Although suicide is not considered, in itself, as a mental illness, it is associated with all kinds of pathologies.

• Related article: "Suicidology: what it is, characteristics and objectives of this science"

Questioning the stigma of suicide

This tour currently leads us to address an increasingly present scourge with the historical weight of stigma, sin and mental illness. To which should be added the popular belief, including the scientific community, of the need to not make suicide and suicidal behaviors visible under penalty of causing the so-called “effect call".

This thesis is rooted in the so-called Werther Effect, associated with Goethe's work "The sorrows of the young Werther" (1774), which narrates in the form of a diary the pain of the protagonist due to a lack of love that ends with his suicide of him The success of the work was enormous. However, the number of suicides skyrocketed, this phenomenon being attributed to the contagion of many young people identified with the suffering of young Werther.

Scientific evidence does not support this idea, pointing in another direction. The literature concludes that imitation of these suicidal behaviors occurs when communicating in a romanticized way, idealizing the discomfort or presenting only the suicides of media or reference figures.

Given the stubbornness of the figures, this approach to suicidal behavior is under review. In 2020, 3,941 people took their lives in our country, without going any further. The highest number ever seen. About 300 of those people were young people between the ages of 14 and 29. At this time, suicide is the main cause of death among young people between the ages of 16 and 23. In other words, a person takes their own life every 2 and a quarter hours. 11 people a day.

• You may be interested in: "Suicidal thoughts: causes, symptoms and therapy"

The Papagen Effect

Today we have enough data and research to affirm that talking about suicide adequately does not increase the possibility of consummation of the same. This is what is called the Papageno Effect, which owes its name to a character in Mozart's "The Magic Flute". Papageno, hopeless, plans his suicide, but three childish spirits dissuade him by presenting other alternatives to death.

It seems proven that when suicide is discussed responsibly, empathetically and offering alternatives, the result is positive and undoubtedly helps save lives. This reality is gaining strength, being at the base of the current trend of lifting the veil in the face of this hitherto silent scourge.

More myths about suicide

Throughout 2021, suicide has begun to be openly discussed. Thus, September 10 has been declared World Suicide Prevention Day. And in our country we already have a suicide prevention line, in the public system, accessible anonymously through 024. We went from considering it a taboo subject and began to talk about it, which has been shown to have a great preventive effect.

Another myth about suicide is to consider that it only affects people who suffer from psychiatric disorders or symptoms. The scientific literature has shown that suicidal behavior is a complex and multifactorial problem, which is not due to a single cause, and in which psychological, social, biological, cultural and environmental factors are involved. Most often, these factors act cumulatively, increasing the person's vulnerability to suicidal behavior.

Although the prevalence ratios of different pathologies as risk factors (depression, above all) are high, they are not it can be derived from this that suicidal behaviors are exclusive of people who suffer from diseases mental. In other words, not all people who commit suicide have a mental illness, nor do all mentally ill people commit suicide, although this is an important predictor.

We will quote to finish another suicide myth that claims suicide is hereditary, something that usually scares the affected close relatives a lot. There are no studies that support the existence of genetic determinism.

What can be inherited is a predisposition to suffer from a mental illness, see depression, but it will depend on multiple environmental factors that this disease can develop and, in this case, it would not necessarily have to culminate in suicide accomplished.

• Related article: "What is social psychology?"

In conclusion

We have to bury this stigma forever and open a social and human debate at all levels and estates in order to prevent these behaviors and alleviate the suffering of victims and family members affected. The more light, the less risk, the more communication, the better prevention.

Author: Javier Elcarte. Founder and director of Vitaliza. Trauma specialist.