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Abstract
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[Reprinted from Lester, D. The other survivors. Surviving Suicide, 2010, Winter, online]
The term "survivors" typically refers to those who lose a loved one or significant other to suicide. But there are others who are, in some sense, "survivors" too. Some people kill themselves in a public manner. In my book with co-author Mark Lindsay, Suicide by Cop (2004), I describe incidents in which people commit suicide by provoking police officers to shoot them. These officers are traumatized by these incidents, and the trauma is increased if the community believes that the officer shot the victim without any provocation. The officers report depression, anger at the suicide, feelings of terror during the incident, and agitation afterward. They later experience flashbacks, nightmares, and insomnia. Rivard and colleagues (2002) found that 11% of the officers experienced one or more symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and 3% have the full syndrome,
Tranah and Farmer (1994) and his colleagues have described the trauma experienced by drivers of subway cars who cannot prevent their trains from running over those who choose to kill themselves by jumping In front of the train. They interviewed 76 drivers to whom this happened on the Tube in London, England. Seventeen percent had post-traumatic disorder and 16% had other psychiatric problems such as depression and phobias. These drivers took an average of 21 sick days after the Incident.
A counselor in Denmark (Tang, 1994) interviewed a 22-year-old train driver who ran over a woman sitting on the tracks. At the time, he felt shock and nausea and was unable to talk to the passengers over the Intercom. In the following weeks, he experienced anxiety and depression, kept trying to understand the woman's motives, and was haunted by fantasies of the scene (which he did not actually see). He sought psychotherapy and considered quitting, but his therapist worked with him to overcome his fears, even sitting with him in the driver's cabin as he drove his train...
Language: en |