Sasha and Stella tackle the complex subject of suicide. They reflect on the many emotional and relational difficulties involved and parse out the differences between suicide risk and suicidal ideation. While terrifying, it sometimes offers an escape fantasy and desire for control, making suicide an existential issue. Furthermore, they point to the stark lack of data available relating to gender dysphoria and suicidality and discuss how the fear of suicide is used against families wishing to safeguard their children.
If you wish to speak to someone about any issues that arose during this please contact the Samaritans https://www.samaritans.org/ireland/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
Links:
Assist Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training: https://www.youth.ie/training/asist-applied-suicide-intervention-skills-training/
Media guidelines: https://www.samaritans.org/ireland/about-samaritans/media-guidelines/
Kurt Cobain https://www.newsweek.com/did-kurt-cobains-death-lower-suicide-rate-1994-244332
Robin Williams https://www.psychologytoday.com/ie/blog/talking-about-men/201908/robin-williams-death-and-subsequent-suicide-contagion
Dhejne C, Lichtenstein P, Boman M, Johansson ALV, Långström N, et al. (2011) Long-Term Follow-Up of Transsexual Persons Undergoing Sex Reassignment Surgery: Cohort Study in Sweden. PLOS ONE 6(2):e16885. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016885
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016885
The Trans Trains 2 (Swedish documentary with subtitles): ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73-mLwWIgwU
Michael Biggs on suicie: Attempted suicide by American LGBT adolescents
https://4thwavenow.com/tag/michael-biggs/
Mum's fury after transgender suicide teen sold hormones from illegal online clinic https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/transgender-treatment-nhs-webberley-jayden-16504026
Transgender Trend: Suicide Facts and Myths: https://www.transgendertrend.com/the-suicide-myth/
Philip Larkin: This be the verse https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48419/this-be-the-verse
Extended Notes
This episode might be triggering, but it’s about suicide and understanding the psychology of it.
Suicide is so common in certain groups, yet it is also very misunderstood and misrepresented at the same time.
When Robin Williams committed suicide, the way the media and news reported on it was very poor.
“What’s the point of talking about it anymore? John’s gone.”
Suicide is a difficult burden on parents, loved ones, siblings, everyone is deeply affected by suicide.
There are no data available that suggests transitioning will reduce suicide rates and suicidal thoughts.
40% of transgender teens have self-reported they’ve attempted suicide. How true is this, really?
Thinking about killing yourself and attempting to kill yourself are two different things. Sasha clarifies what this means.
A highly suicidal person has A LOT going on. It’s not just one reason why they decide to end their life.
Stella hears how high the stats are, but there’s much more to the story. You have to dig deeper.
Courts in England and Wales deemed that children under 16 would first need court approval before they could have access to puberty blockers.
The last thing you want a young person to experience is going in and out of mental health hospitals.
Stella has noticed that a lot of high-risk individuals for suicide are very existential and philosophical people.
There are so many beautiful things you miss out on when you end your own life.
There’s a great future ahead of you.
Some people are thinking about the fantasy of suicide, but have no intentions of carrying it out.
How can parents help their young teens reconnect socially again?
When you’re in a dark space, you push people away. This is why it’s important for loved ones that if you have someone pushing you away, you override that and do something fun with them anyway.
This podcast is partially sponsored by ReIME, Rethink Identity Medicine Ethics:
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34 - Gender Dysphoria & Suicide