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Why do some people in a difficult situation decide to die? The risk of suicide is higher for those who find it difficult to make decisions in a stressful situation, says psychotherapist Fabrice Jolan.
Fabrice Jollant is a psychiatrist working in the Medical Psychology and Psychiatry Service at the University Hospital of Montpellier (France).
“How did it happen? Why didn’t they foresee, didn’t save? Bewilderment is added to the feeling of grief: is it so difficult for him (her) to talk about his problems, share his fears, ask for help? Psychotherapist Fabrice Jollan is trying to look into the past of suicide victims in order to understand what makes them forget about the instinct of self-preservation, the tears of loved ones and the joys of life in difficult life situations. He found that a person’s predisposition to suicide (or lack of it) is related to how he makes decisions in the face of uncertainty.1.
Pass the tests
- How do you deal with failure?
Psychological vulnerability
Many suicides, shortly before committing a fatal act, experience depression, problems with alcohol and drugs, suffer from personality disorders and schizophrenia. But what is strange is that among people with similar difficulties, the majority do not take this step. The very presence of the disease can be a risk factor, but is not the only cause. Fabrice Jollan explains: “How a person reacts to cold or heat depends on the characteristics of his metabolism. Also, how we react to different life situations depends on our personal characteristics. Studies have shown that most often suicidal behavior is prone to those who do not have emotional stability, prone to impulsive behavior, outbursts of anger, aggressiveness. At the neurobiological level, this is due to a violation of the activity of neurons that produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter that ensures the work of the most ancient parts of the brain.
These areas connect information from different sense organs, emotional and cognitive reactions, and are concentrated in the orbitofrontal cortex. It has a crucial role in decision-making, and it is she who provides the impetus for its implementation. Damage to the orbitofrontal cortex leads to various disorders. Sometimes they manifest themselves in the loss of motor skills or language abilities. In other cases, they affect the ability to self-control and social skills. People with these disorders often show a tendency to gamble, invest in dubious businesses and financial transactions. They seem to be unaware of the risks that their decisions may lead to.
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The Blindness of Choice
To do this, psychologists from the University of Iowa (USA) have developed a test that simulates the situation of gambling. Participants could draw a card from one of the two decks in front of them. Depending on the value of the card, they could win or lose a certain amount of money. At the same time, one of the decks gave a stable, albeit small, win, while the other sometimes brought large amounts, but generally left the player in the red. Participants needed to unravel this secret in order to find a successful strategy.
During the experiment, it turned out that those participants who had cases of suicide in the family were more likely to make risky moves. Even after several big losses, they kept repeating the same mistakes as before. “People who are prone to risky behavior often choose decisions that promise them quick pleasures,” says Fabrice Jollan. “They also find it harder to change their behavior if they face difficulties.” This mechanism also explains the choice in favor of suicide. “Faced with serious life problems, the suicide sees only those solutions that will give a quick effect. Feeling overwhelmed further strengthens in him the desire to end a life that causes such suffering, ”adds the psychotherapist.
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- Why do teenagers choose to die?
How to reduce risks?
Vulnerability – even if it is associated with a biological and genetic predisposition – does not mean that a person will sooner or later take a fatal step. “This is not a prophecy that must necessarily be realized, but only demons dormant inside, which can be awakened, or can be lulled even stronger,” says Fabrice Jollan. – Tendency to aggression, impulsiveness are basic personality traits. But we can compensate for them by developing our psychological resilience. A positive environment, openness and working with our emotions can make us stronger and more confident. But isolation, obsession with problems and passivity can create a dangerous situation. There is an old parable about two wolves – two forces fighting in us: creative and destructive. Remember that the “wolf” that we feed always wins.
1 Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2015, vol. 68.