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wedrifid comments on How would you talk a stranger off the ledge? - Less Wrong Discussion

11 Post author: MoreOn 23 January 2012 02:52PM

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Comment author: wedrifid 24 January 2012 11:44:07AM *  0 points [-]

I don't want to generalize too much from 2 examples, but now it seems to me that the "everything is ok now" part is a huge warning, even if it's followed by some rationalization. Not sure why. Maybe it is a result of thinking: "I am so completely worthless, that I want all people to stop worrying about my coming death". Or maybe it is an overreaction to some last hope, and the suicide is an overreaction to when the last hope fails. Problem is that wishful thinking on our part wants to believe that everything is OK when the suicidal person says so, but rationally any sudden improvement should be treated with high suspicion.

In the case of the suicide risk for people on antidepressants it is said that when improvement begins the 'overwhelming akrasia' component declines, leaving the depressed individual with the ability to actually carry out goals. (Take this with a grain of salt. It's a 'just so' story if ever I heard one. Testable to be sure, but not easily so with our level of technology.)