Suicide Is Not A Viable Option
The Golden Gate Bridge in California is famous for several reasons. It is a well-known tourist destination. The throng of people who assemble there at any given moment means it’s easy to overlook someone who climbs over the rails with self-destructive intent. In 2004, 24 people jumped to the deaths from the Golden Gate Bridge. […]
The famous comedienne died in 2014 at the age of 81. In the 2008 broadcast of her counselling session with psychologist, Pamela Stephenson, Stephenson highlighted the recurring theme of betrayal in Rivers’s life. What most readers might recall about Rivers is that her former husband , Edgar, killed himself, and was survived by she and […]
Perhaps the greatest undervalued virtue – the one we least applaud – is the capacity to endure difficult circumstances. We have been ingrained with the notion, particularly through fictionalised films and literature, that victory lies in changing one’s external situation. If we perceive our bodies to be defective, we feel compelled to subject them to […]
Those of the more introspective bent, as most writers tend to be, are vulnerable to being held hostage by their own negative thoughts which can become patterns of negative thinking. Wolf’s need to write may well have been a natural inclination to relieve this negativity through escapist fantasy and cathartic activity of applying pen to […]
Groundhog Day is an old, Dutch Pennsylvanian tradition which is observed every year on 2 February. A specially chosen groundhog dubbed ”Puxatawney Phil’ is used to predict whether there will be an early Spring or there will be six more weeks of winter. There is a special ceremony in the town of Puxatawney whereby this […]
This sci-fi, dystopian film (2015) shows how loneliness and despair can predispose vulnerable people into settling for a dangerous second best to provide meaningful interaction – in this case a half-human, half technological being called ‘muse’. Although exciting at first, this physically perfect yet psychologically flawed innovation, ends up boring and ensnaring Jack, who paid […]
Today in the USA is the National Sanctity of Human Life Day. What a welcome opportunity to remind ourselves of why human life is so precious, and deserves protection from conception to natural death. The Bible affirms that we are made in the image of God, that not one sparrow falls to the ground without […]
When we reflect on 2020, it seems that as human beings we have lost so much. In the material world, we have lost the third spaces we were used to visiting for leisure and social connection. Some of us have lost our homes due to evictions or foreclosures. We have lost physical contact with familiar […]
Who would have thought that behind the funny face and well-timed quips lay a complex interplay of struggles which would lead to his tragic demise. He chose the limelight of the stage in which to enact his improvised personas for the amusement of his audience, but in the end his toughest role was his real […]
Imaginary Interview with David Webb, suicide Attempter and Suicidologist In 2002, David Webb addressed the Suicide Prevention Australia Conference in Sydney. Dr Carla devised an interview format as the best way of presenting the insights he shared. Dr C: Describe some of the feelings you experienced when you were suicidal. DW: I used to sometimes […]