by Karon Brandt

Created on: November 01, 2009

Intervention. You can help prevent a suicide by getting a friend/family member to seek help from a doctor who will refer him/her to an inpatient unit of a psychiatric facility. This article will emphasize inpatient care from the viewpoint of a psychiatric nurse.

Many life events cause sadness - from the blues to grief to serious depression - which may become chronic and long-term.

Many people experience depression after the break-up of a long-term (or short-but-intense) relationship. Almost everyone has experienced the loss of a loved one or a pet, and they know the pangs of grief and the accompanying sadness. Many know depression resulting from job loss. Divorced persons often experience depression after cumulative losses of personal identity, loss of the family home, and loss of familiar life patterns.

We have all suffered losses, and we have all experienced depression at some time or another - if we've lived long enough. People handle depression differently. Some people "bounce back" much better than others. Some seem to be "stuck" in a state of unending, or worsening sadness, to the point in which caring loved ones realize they need help.

Of course, taking care of oneself properly while these life changes are taking place can go a long way towards helping one to recover more quickly. Such things as rest, relaxation, exercise, talking things out with a friend or professional counselor, meditation, anti-depressive medications, etc. can all work to some degree for different people.

What happens when someone begins to talk about suicide and really thinks "Life is not worth living" and "People would be better off without me"?

Any expression of suicidal thinking must be taken seriously. A friend or family member should strongly encourage the depressed person to seek help from a medical doctor. The doctor might decide to admit a suicidal-person to a psychiatric unit of a general medical center for evaluation and possible admittance.

This article is about the kind of care a patient receives who is seriously thinking about suicide and needs intervention. The symptoms, risk factors, and care of persons at "high risk for self-directed violence" are drawn from "Nursing Diagnoses in Psychiatric Nursing: A Pocket Guide for Care Plan Construction" by Mary C. Townsend, an Advance Registered Nurse Practitioner and Nursing Consultant in Wichita, Kansas.

Short-term and long-term goals are laid out along with the rationale behind the treatment.

There are six major symptoms

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