Or “PDW” when I’ve got 2 minutes to write down your life story before moving on to the next patient in handoff. It’s not uncommon for me to scribble down something to the effect of:
“PDW w/o plan iso ++life stress” (passive death wish without plan in the setting of multiple life stressors)
…multiple times per assignment. Like out of a six-patient assignment for the night I’ll probably write that at least twice.
If it’s only one specific stressor or I’m not too pressed for time I may specify. Common specific stressors include:
homeless (most common)
job loss
SO/mom/dad/sis/bro/pet/fam died (usually only one buuut)
charges
SUD (substance use disorder)
chronic ill.
…but yeah people be checking into the psych ward for passive death wishes that all the time. 9/10 times the stressor is homelessness and realistically many are exaggerating a little for 3 hots and a cot but I probably would too tbh and I also really don’t wanna live in a world where we gotta question the validity of somebody’s expressed suicidal ideation.
that isn’t suicide. suicide is the active act of killing yourself.
dying from neglect, or self-neglect isn’t suicide.
though both, are ‘deaths of despair’. in the sense they are entirely preventable and due to a lack of emotional/social connections.
actually that’s called “passive suicidal ideation” and is in fact exactly what it sounds like:
a kind of “if this happens to kill me, oh well, at least it’s over.” kind of mindset and it is an earlier stage in the process of suicide.
quick copy paste from the wiki:
On suicide risk scales, the range of suicidal ideation varies from fleeting thoughts to detailed planning. Passive suicidal ideation is thinking about not wanting to live or imagining being dead. Active suicidal ideation involves preparation to kill oneself or forming a plan to do so.
Or “PDW” when I’ve got 2 minutes to write down your life story before moving on to the next patient in handoff. It’s not uncommon for me to scribble down something to the effect of:
…multiple times per assignment. Like out of a six-patient assignment for the night I’ll probably write that at least twice.
If it’s only one specific stressor or I’m not too pressed for time I may specify. Common specific stressors include:
…but yeah people be checking into the psych ward for passive death wishes that all the time. 9/10 times the stressor is homelessness and realistically many are exaggerating a little for 3 hots and a cot but I probably would too tbh and I also really don’t wanna live in a world where we gotta question the validity of somebody’s expressed suicidal ideation.
hey that’s interesting, thanks for sharing!
TIL. I get this when I’m off my meds. Never knew there was a name for it.
That’s a semantic distinction that doesn’t add to the conversation. Read the room, friend.
You just love being wrong don’t you