Did this video change your opinion on suicide?
I always believed that most people who die of suicide are too selfish and do not care about those around them, and all they care about is taking an easy route out. This is not true, ninety-eight per cent of the people who die of suicide don’t take this step to hurt others, most of them do it because they are facing an emotional mental pain that they actually can’t sustain. Those contemplating to die of suicide should be supported and helped to seek treatment that can help them fight the suicidal trauma and thoughts.
What did the video teach you about suicide?
Suicide is a progressive process; it does not happen instantly. Most victims start by having negative thoughts whereby some may think that no one cares about them while, everybody cares about themselves. These then develop into a mental health condition called extreme paranoia where the victim starts feeling like everyone is lying to them or is trying to harm them. After extreme paranoia, some victims may also experience symptoms of mania where the victim becomes easily distracted, becomes unusually talkative, increased racing thoughts decreased sleep and increased energy and activity all these are then followed by hallucinations which may be both auditory and visual. Once these symptoms are observed on a person, immediate medical treatment should be sought to help the victim fight the suicidal thoughts. Again, nurses should “create conditions for open and genuine communication” (Vandewalle et al., 2019) that is caregivers should always make themselves available for patients to promote good relationship among the healthcare team and the patients.
When completing an initial assessment for a client with suicidal ideation, what are the most important pieces of information that should be captured?
When completing an initial assessment for a client with suicidal ideation, information such as the victim’s experiences, feelings, plans and the misinterpretations of situations should be well captured and recorded down. Once this information has been captured, it will be easier to determine the cause of the victim’s thoughts and proper treatment will be given to help the victim. A close assessment of the victim’s healing process should also be factored in to monitor the progress and impact of the medication.
Reference
Vandewalle, J., Beeckman, D., Van Hecke, A., Debyser, B., Deproost, E., & Verhaeghe, S. (2019). Contact and communication with patients experiencing suicidal ideation: A qualitative study of nurses’ perspectives. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(11), 2867–2877. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.14113
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