Cognitive-behavioral therapy applied to cases of suicidal ideation.

Suicidal thoughts respond well to cognitive-behavioral treatment. Let's see why.

Suicidal ideation is one of the warning signs in terms of mental health and emotional well-being, and its presence means that the risk of suicidal thoughts is higher than the risk of suicidal thoughts. and its presence implies that the risk of attempting to take one's own life is relatively high.

Fortunately, the world of psychology has been developing forms of intervention to help these people. Here we will talk about one of the most effective ones, the cognitive-behavioral therapy.

What is suicidal ideation?

Suicidal ideation is the tendency to think about suicide as a real possibility, or even something clearly desirable and for which it is necessary to be preparing for because of the psychological discomfort suffered.

Of course, suicidal ideation does not have clearly defined boundaries and presents itself on a gray scale, which means that this problem can also be detected in those who believe that they are not seriously considering suicide, although on numerous occasions they "fantasize" about the idea.

On the other hand, suicidal ideation is not in itself a psychological disorder, but a phenomenon that can occur along with suicidal ideation.It is a phenomenon that can occur along with a variety of psychopathologies and psychiatric disorders. Although it is common to relate suicidal thoughts with depression and in fact this disorder greatly increases the likelihood of developing them, the truth is that they can appear along with other mental disorders, some of which are not even part of mood disorders.

In any case, this is a concept belonging to the clinical field and as such it is not possible to self-diagnose suicidal ideation, since only mental health professionals can assess to what extent this psychological phenomenon is present in a particular person, taking into account his or her characteristics and life context.

What is cognitive-behavioral therapy?

When we talk about cognitive-behavioral therapy we refer to a set of therapeutic interventions in patients that have one fundamental aspect in common: they are focused on helping people by intervening both on their observable actions and their habits of interaction with the environment, as well as on their way of thinking and interacting with their environment.and their way of thinking, feeling and generating and sustaining beliefs.

This is because those of us who use the cognitive-behavioral intervention model help people under the premise that it is necessary to create a synergy between what is done and what is thought, progressing on both fronts so that the change for the better is easier and self-reinforcing, remaining consistent and constant in the person's life. In other words it is easier to develop healthy and adaptive mental processes if at the same time we develop actions that are in line with this psychological transformation. with this psychological transformation.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy was born from the research of psychologists Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck, who, each in his own way, hypothesized that many of people's psychological problems have to do with the way in which people's mental schemas condition the way in which they interpret what happens to them and even their own identity. Moreover, these cognitive schemas predispose people to behave in a way that helps confirm that way of understanding the world.

But just as the mental affects behavior, so does the reverse: changing behaviors and situations to which we expose ourselves contributes to thinking and experiencing emotions differently.. Thus, psychological well-being can be favored through this double way, intervening in the ideas and in the habits and exercises to practice in order to learn to relate differently with the world.

How does it apply to people who have suicidal thoughts?

Entire volumes could be written about the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy as applied to people with suicidal ideation, and this article is not intended to go into detail.

In addition, it is important to be clear that this type of therapeutic intervention is not based on a set of fixed instructions to be applied as if reading a prescription, but includes many strategies and techniques. It includes many strategies and techniques, and the way in which they are implemented depends on the disorder or problem presented by the patient, the environments and people to whom the patient is exposed, his or her personality traits and habits, etc.

With this in mind, here are some of the keys to understanding the role of cognitive-behavioral therapy used for suicidal thoughts, and why it is effective.

1. It helps to understand the emotions linked to these thoughts.

Thoughts of suicide are almost always linked to a high emotional charge, but not all people who have these thoughts are suicidal.But not everyone who experiences them is able to understand exactly what the emotional forces behind suicidal ideation are. The latter leads them to not critically analyze the "radical" and clear solutions they come up with, such as taking their own lives.

In response to this, cognitive-behavioral therapy enhances self-knowledge through exercises and habits that train patients' abilities that train patients' skills in recognizing their own emotions and feelings, as well as their impact on the thoughts that cross their minds and the habits they adopt to deal with the discomfort generated by some of these feelings.

2. It helps to find new incentive systems

Through cognitive-behavioral therapy it is easier to find exciting projects and tasks, with the capacity to emotionally mobilize the person and lead him/her to set short and long term goals, apart from the possibility of suicide. This is due to the dual-track structure of the cognitive-behavioral model: on the one hand, it encourages the person to expose him or herself to new situations and break habits linked to suicidal ideation, and on the other hand, it offers an alternative interpretation of reality that allows the person to be more sensitive to the good things that life has to offer.

3. It goes hand in hand with a healthier lifestyle.

We should never underestimate the way in which our physical state influences how we feel emotionally. Cognitive-behavioral therapy establishes a series of guidelines for people with suicidal ideation, many of whom feel very unmotivated at the prospect of doing anything, to gradually incorporate healthy habits into their daily lives, starting with the simplest things and then progressing to more complex behaviors.

The main areas of action are quality sleep, good nutrition and maintaining physical activity as much as possible..

4. It allows to question beliefs that sustain negative biases.

Once one has been thinking enough about the idea of suicide, it is common to generate a logic of self-confirmation, it is habitual that a logic of self-confirmation is generated of this pessimistic way of interpreting life, given that, although it may seem paradoxical, holding beliefs as opposed as those that support the idea of taking one's own life and at the same time those that show that life is worth living, in a certain sense generates as much or more discomfort as the fact of giving credit only to the former.

This gives rise to a confirmation bias: everything that happens to us is interpreted as proof that we were right, which in this case means that suicide is the way out.

Therefore, cognitive-behavioral therapy helps people to replace these harmful beliefs with others, and at the same time helps them to live experiences that help them to demolish this old frame of thought.

Are you looking for psychological support?

If you are interested in having professional psychological support, I invite you to contact me.

I am a psychologist specialized in the cognitive-behavioral model and I help individuals and organizations both in my office in Madrid and online. On this page you can see more information about how I work, and my contact details.

Bibliographical references:

• American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Washington, DC: Author.
• Fergusson, D.M.; Woodward, L.J.; Horwood, L.J. (2000). Risk factors and life processes associated with the onset of suicidal behavior during adolescence and early adulthood. Psychological Medicine, 30(1): pp. 23 - 39.
• Nock, M.K.; Borges, G.; Bromet, E.J.; Alonso, J.; Angermeyer, M.; Beautrais, A.; Bruffaerts, R.; Chiu, W. T. et al. (2008). Cross-national prevalence and risk factors for suicidal ideation, plans and attempts. The British Journal of Psychiatry 192(2): pp. 98 - 105.
• Zisook, S.; Lesser, I.M.; Lebowitz, B.; Rush, A.J.; Kallenberg, G.; Wisniewski, S.R.; et al. (2011). Effect of Antidepressant medication treatment on suicidal ideation and behavior in a randomized trial: An exploratory report from the Combining Medications to Enhance Depression Outcomes Study. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 72 (10): pp. 1322 - 1332.