Leave it to the guy who's spent the last 15 months trying to figure out how to solve the Army's suicide problem to coin a phrase that might help everyone who cares about suicide prevention.
The Army Vice Chief of Staff General Peter Chiarelli, commenting on a recently released Army report on suicide and high risk behaviors, said:
"For some, the rigors of service, repeated deployment, injuries and separations from family resulted in a sense of isolation, hopelessness and life fatigue."
Life fatigue.
That phrase so neatly captures the combination of hopelessness and anger, the feelings of being trapped, anxious, and moody, that constitute warning signs for suicide.
It also speaks to the utter exhaustion a suicidal individual feels as he or she reaches the point at which it seems best to put an end to emotional pain by ending life altogether.
I'm always looking for better, easier ways to talk about suicide and suicide prevention, terms that simplify conversations and clarify solutions.
To me, this term does so much - it gives greater voice to the sighs of people who say, "I've had enough." It illustrates how far and how deep those feelings go - it's not just having enough of being tired of war, or of difficult family relationships and responsibilities - it's being tired of life, of everything.
Diagnosticians - psychiatrists and other mental health service providers - might incorporate a question that used a term like "life fatigue" into an assessment of an individual. I think of how many more people might get the help they need earlier because, yes, they do feel life fatigue and, yes, they'd like not to feel that way.
This term could be used in a campaign to encourage people to seek help. It could be used instead of other words that are so loaded with negative connotations that people are afraid to use them to describe their own feelings for fear that they will be labeled and stigmatized.
It makes me wonder what makes some terms in the mental health field catchier than others. Any thoughts on what contributes to some terms taking off and others falling out of use? What do you think about this idea of "life fatigue"?
Copyright 2010 Elana Premack Sandler, All Rights Reserved
