Suicide In Sir Thomas Browne's Religio Medici

In 1642, Sir Thomas Browne used the word of “suicide” in his Religio Medici. As a physician and a philosopher, Sir Thomas Browne created the word “suicide” based on the Latin sui (of oneself) and caedere (to kill; as cited in DeLeo, Bertolote, & Lester, 2002). The meaning has stayed consistent for centuries. Silverman et al. (2007a) posit that suicide and suicide-related behaviors as ways of coping with or responding to life circumstances. Suicide is seen as a driving force for individuals to purposefully move toward desired outcomes such as to end psychological or emotional pain and to change the future social milieu (Silverman, Berman, Sanddal, O’Carroll, & Joiner, 2007b). Suicide is also viewed as a final solution to escape from life

Silverman et al. (2007b) propose that suicide ideation is purely cognitive in nature by thinking about ending one’s life. In contrast, suicide-related communications (suicide threats and suicide plans) and behaviors (self-harm, suicide attempts, and suicide) possess a higher degree of mental engagement due to the involvement of emotional and behavioral components. Hence, suicide-related communications such as suicidal threats and plan are key risk indicators of suicidal actions. Silverman et al. (2007b) also indicate that suicide threats, both verbal and non-verbal, including suicide notes, are a coping communication or suggestion of a suicidal behavior might occur in the near future. Furthermore, a suicide plan is viewed as an indication of actively or systematically formulation of actions that can cause self-injury. Although these thoughts, wishes, desires, or intention communicate the desire to end one’s life, they do not directly link to self-injurious actions. For instance, a suicide attempt may result in no injuries or death, even though it is a self-inflicted behavior with the intention to die (Silverman et al., 2007a). This self-inflicted behavior without the intention to end one’s life is known as “self-harm.” A clear understanding of the classification of suicidal behaviors is vital