[Perspectives] Words and silence

Doctors sometimes meet with patients in suicidal crises; for psychiatrists and general practitioners it is part of our routine clinical work. When a conversation can unfold with such patients, it might explore the value and purpose of life, the bonds and relationships that sustain us, and the idea (bolstered by experience of others in the situation) that suicidality is a temporary state of mind: that if adequate support can be found, and the despair and agitation can be endured, it will pass. Every death by suicide sends shock waves that reverberate through the lives of those it touches, with the potential for an aftermath of rage, guilt, grief, regret, and incomprehension, among other feelings.