Recovering the Will to Live

Following a suicide attempt, the pitfalls of guilt and denial have to be overcome. An overdose of medication is the most common means used to attempt suicide, but this desperate act more often reflects a desire for change than the intent to die. The following questions should be asked when faced with a suicide attempt: Why did it happen? Is there a real wish to die? Is the suicide attempt the sign of a psychiatric disorder?What are the situations that can trigger a suicide attempt? A domestic argument that degenerates, a difficult adolescence, old age, a psychotic disorder, depression, etc.The cases analysed and treated here cover a wide range of situations.How should one respond to a suicide attempt? How can a person who has attempted suicide reconstruct his or her life? The authors offer solutions and advice; they say what to do and what to say.Both authors have had extensive experience working with children and adults in psychiatric wards, where suicide attempts are a daily occurrence.This book gives a direct account of patients? lives (observations, testimonials, diaries, medical logs). Written for the health-care professional, it is will also be of great assistance to anyone who has had to deal with and try to understand a loved one's suicide attempt.Luc-Christophe Guillerm is a psychiatrist. He works in the crisis unit of a psychiatric hospital and in private practice. Brigitte Marc, a psychiatrist and child psychiatrist, specialises in eating disorders and problems related to adolescence. She worked for several years in the psychiatric emergency unit of the teaching hospital of Nantes. She now teaches interns in psychiatry at a medical school in Brest.