Suicide & the Brain

How does the trauma of losing a loved one to suicide affect the brain?

 Having a loved friend or relative committee suicide takes the brain on a rollercoaster of emotions. Anger, that they did it and left you; fear, that someone else you care about might do it; and sadness because you suffered a loss. A healthy brain in a balanced state does not kill itself. Period. Even when bad things happen the brain wants to live. It can tenaciously hang on to life—sometimes for years even after a negative diagnosis and terminal diagnosis or prognosis, so called. Suicide likely happens ONLY in a brain that is in an altered state. That can be due to substances, drugs, extreme depression, and so on. In a sense, suicide is both a loss and a social rejection and your brain hurts—much like a physical injury. More tomorrow. 

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