Resource Tag: PRESUICIDAL SYNDROME

Background: Despite of the decreasing suicide rates in many countries, suicide is still a major public health concern worldwide. Traditional suicide risk factors have limited clinical predictive value, as they provide little reliable information on the acute psychological processes leading to suicide. Aims: The aim of this analysis is to describe and compare the recently introduced two […]

This presentation discussed the presuicidal syndrome which comprises: constriction of the personality; aggression turned towards oneself, & suicidal fantasies. Psychotherapy, sociotherapy, & pharmacotherapy were all recommended, in combination, as being necessary to treat patients.

It is suggested that gay youth who attempt suicide represent a special case in which the meanings associated with life & death are worth exploration. 16 gay men who attempted suicide were asked how they perceived life & death before the attempt & how these perceptions are linked to the attempt. Orbach’s model specifies 4 […]

This thesis begins by looking at the issue of trait vulnerability within presuicidal syndrome. The author looks at Suicide Ideation Cognitive Trait Scale (SICTS), and the validity of this test with regards to structure and criterioin orientation. The author also looks at establishing the qualities of stability and discriminability within the continuum. SICTS is able […]

The presuicidal syndrome is presented in this study with its prodromal symptoms which usually foresee suicide. 100 patients with a PS were investigated taking into consideration all specific risk factors. Three stages of PS were outlined. Interpretation of PS places it at the border between the clincial psychiatric fields and the ontological problems of humanity […]

Discusses suicide as being resultant of regression to the deepest level of adaptational disintegration or as a choice of death rather than suffering disintegration. Includes information about presuicidal syndromes; suicide prediction; motives, goals & intentions; Freud on suicide; & dreams as evidence of suicide risk. Case examples & treatment implications are given. 19 refs. (LH)

56 in-patients who had attempted suicide were assessed on their self-concept & how they felt others perceived them. These results were compared with 52 controls undergoing psychiatric treatment but with no suicide attempts. Female parasuicides had a more positive self-concept than males, and male parasuicides felt that they were judged as less assertive & self-confident […]

A simple psychosocial crisis is differentiated from a psychiatric crisis; the former is usually a non-pathological phenomenon, which may result in a pathological development. As one critical assumption, the authors consider suicide potential. The problem of suicide & family is emphasized in regard to biological-genetic & psychosocial aspects. Finally, referral to prophylactic-therapeutic interventions for psychosocial […]

See AN 901674 for abstract and further information.

The author examines the presuicidal syndrome of constriction, inhibited aggression & auto-aggression, & suicidal fantasies from the viewpoint of psychoanalyst Alder. (NBB)

The presuicidal syndrome first described in 1958 relates to that specific psychic state of mind that leads to suicidal acts. It is an alarm signal indicating a tendency to suicide. There are 3 principal components: constriction; inhibited aggression turned toward the self; & suicidal fantasies. It is proposed that this syndrome provides a basis for […]

In 1949, Ringel examined 745 cases of suicide attempters to determine their psychic state immediately prior to their suicide act. In most cases he found facts to occur with such regularity that they were summarized under the term “Presuicidal Syndrome” consisting of: constriction; inhibited aggression; & suicidal fantasies. These 3 factors reinforce each other. In […]

Flight from death & flight into death are both said to be ways of evading the full unfolding of human existence. This wide-ranging discussion concludes that isolation from other human beings plays an important role in the predisposition to suicide. Fleeing from death is a partial suicide & always precedes completed suicide. This view is […]

Dr. Schneidman states that the lethal suicide act consists of 3 main components & a “triggering” process. The first element is a life pattern of inimicality (a self-destructive life style); the second is the presence of an agitated psychological state he terms perturbation; & the third element is a constriction, a cognitive state of limited […]

Ringel’s presuicidal syndrome involves increasing restraint, repressed aggression directed against one’s own person & increasing suicidal fantasies. The author examines various aspects of the psychopathology of this syndrome. Suicidal fantasies are likened to sedative drugs, subject to excesses. The problem of maintaining self-esteem in an already depressed person is discussed. High risk groups, social isolation, […]

The primary prevention of suicide, states Dr. Schneidman, lies in education. The main task of the suicidologist is to educate the public that suicide can happen to anyone, that there are identifiable warning signs, & that help is available. Dr. Schneidman presents 10 features common to suicide & discusses their implications for response. The 10 […]

The presuicidal syndrome, characterized by constriction & focusing one only one solution–suicide–is addressed by mental health professionals in a community psychiatric clinic described by the author. Clinicians deal with the patient’s ego regression in an open & accepting manner, that respects the individual’s autonomy. This is illustrated in the 3 case histories described. (NBB)

The authors attempt to characterize 2 types of poeple in a crisis situation: those who need few interventions & those who need long-term help. A random sample of 1390 people who attended a crisis centre during 1980-84 was divided into 2 groups: those who came 1-5 times & those who came 6 or more times. […]

The author characterizes the presuicidal syndrome in patients of different age groups, basing the research on 105 patients who have attempted or committed suicide over a 10 year period. Children appear disturbed, irritable, & extremely active. Suicidal behavior immediately follows these symptoms. Adolescents withdraw, then pretend improvement hours or days before the act. Adults extend […]

This article relates the events leading up to a suicide pact by 2 adolescent males that resulted in the death of one & the partial disablement of the other. The survivor, Joe Galarza, was charged under California law with aiding a suicide & murder in the first degree. After a 2 year stay in Youth […]

The authors discuss the problem of judging suicide potential by clinical assessment & by means of rating scales. The Poldinger list, devised for the identification of suicidality, was found to be inadequate in assessing suicide potential in a sample of 146 hospital patients. The authors suggest that use of the Poldinger be restricted to psychiatrists […]

This study investigates the possible consequences of not identifying depressive symptomatology in patients presenting somato-vegetative symptoms & behavior disturbances. 72 cases of masked depression were analyzed, hospitalized & diagnosed in a psychiatric clinic. Symptomatology differed somewhat (table 2) but characteristics critical to the suicidal process were evident.(NBB)

The authors analyzed 100 completed suicides by the method of psychological autopsy to determine the presence of depressive states in these individuals. Symptoms of depressive mood, sleep disturbance, loss of appetite, decreased energy, social introversion, functional incapacity, & suicidal preoccupation were the basis for diagnosis. Results indicated depression was highly possible in 75% of the […]