September 2018

MEDICAL HEALTH
From Heartache to ‘Psychache’:
An Overwhelming Burden
by Larry Schwingel
Thirty-one years ago, a rabbi came to the front door of
Jackie Rosen. Without him saying a word she knew her
son, Mitchell, only 24, would never come home again. A
victim of suicide, his body was found in a nearby field where
he once played.
Mitchell’s story, like thousands of others, is about a life
unfulfilled. His mother, the executive director of Florida
Initiative for Suicide Prevention (FISP), has made it her
lifelong commitment to help others in crisis. Over the years,
she’s trained staffs of organizations, schoolteachers, first
responders, police, and provided crisis intervention.
FISP also offers support groups for suicide loss survivors,
and the Broward and Miami-Dade school districts have each
approved her organization’s HOPE Sunshine Club initiative
that offers an engaging curriculum for middle school, high
school, and college students.
National Suicide Prevention
Week is Sept. 9-15, and
everyone needs to be aware
that this illness doesn’t age
discriminate, and knows no
ethnic boundaries. Even though
choosing death over life is a
heartbreaking trade-off, nearly
45,000 people take their lives in
the U.S. each year. In Florida,
the suicide rate is the 10th
leading cause of death, but the
second leading cause among those 25-34, and third among
those 15-24. From 1999 to 2016, the suicide rate in Florida
increased to double digits, and during that time, only one
state (Nevada) decreased. Eleven states increased between
38 and 58 percent.
Following her son’s death, Rosen organized a support group
to help her and others cope with the grieving process. Grief,
sadness, shock, and hurt were all parts of the process, but
Rosen said her biggest challenge was to understand how
Mitchell had gotten to such a dark place. “We knew he was
in danger and my husband and I were with him all the time,”
she said. “One night he slipped out when we were sleeping
and he never came back.”
Many that die by suicide are victims of “psychache” — a
term coined by Edwin Shneidman, a noted clinical
psychologist and suicidologist. “The psychological pain they
feel is overwhelming,” Rosen said. “For example, imagine
that 80 percent of your body was burned and the doctor
told you there was no pain medication — that is psychache.
Understanding that concept helped me gain a better
awareness of the disease and a person’s state of mind.”
According to Rosen, thinking suicide is “a coward’s way out”
is archaic. “It’s a disease that’s psychologically overwhelming
and people that die by suicide feel they are easing someone
else’s burden,” she said. She is steadfast to never use the
word “committed” in relationship to suicide. “It’s a disease,
and it should be treated that way. You wouldn’t say that
someone committed cancer. That old mindset has to
change.”
Depression and anxiety among the young has risen, and
Rosen attributes it to social media. “Kids have a need to
keep up, and if they don’t have as many friends on Twitter or
Snapchat they don’t feel a sense of worth, and that’s a major
problem.” She says a lack of common decency, namecalling,
and bullying also factor into stress and that is how
our country is today, one she termed “radically different.”
A family member, a friend, neighbor, or coworker may seem
fine, but masked behind the smile are issues that can’t be
seen. Depression is the top visible warning sign, but other
signals include changes in behavior, eating, or sleeping
habits, difficulty making decisions, the inability to interact
with others, apathy, losing interest in hobbies, changing
one’s physical appearance, giving away prized possessions,
visiting friends more than usual, and extended grief over
losing a loved one. “Suicidal tendencies do run in families
and the DNA brain disorder can be passed generation to
generation,” Rosen said. “It becomes an acceptable thing to
do and those people are at a very high risk.”
At the core of the illness are issues such as bad
relationships, substance abuse, health problems, job losses,
and financial burdens. Interestingly, half the people that die
by suicide do not have a known mental condition at the time
of death.
FISP does not have a hotline, but the staff does provide
advice and support to all callers. The organization also sends
packets of information, provides referrals, and suggests
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SEPTEMBER 2018