Traumatic subjective experiences invite suicide
pp. 147-165
in: Maurizio Pompili (ed), Phenomenology of suicide, Berlin, Springer, 2018Abstract
The overwhelming events that lead to post-traumatic stress disorders and similar states are commonly understood to arise from noxious external events. It is however the unmasterable subjective experiences such events provoke that injure the mind and ultimately the brain. Further, traumatic overarousal may arise from inner affective deluge with minimal external stimulation. Affects that promote suicide when sufficiently intense are reviewed; we propose that suicidal crises are often marked by repetitions (flashbacks) of these affects as they were originally endured in past traumatic experiences. Further, recurrent overwhelming suicidal states may retraumatize patients (patients who survive suicide attempts survive attempted murders, albeit at their own hands). We propose that repeated affective traumatization by unendurable crises corrodes the capacity for hope and erodes the ability to make and maintain loving attachments.