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Resources Basic Information The Nature of Suicide The Nature of SuicideDefining SuicideSuicide: A Reactive ActionSuicide StatisticsOther Factors Contributing to Suicide RiskSuicide TriggersSuicide Triggers ContinuedTying it All Together: Why Does Someone Become Suicidal?Becoming Suicidal: Biological ContributionsBecoming Suicidal: Sociocultural ContributionsSuicide Prevention and Societal MeasuresWebsites Coping with Suicidality Coping with SuicidalityHow did you get to this suicidal place?Why does suicide seem like a solution to your problem(s)?How do you know your level of suicide risk?Suicide Warning SignsSuicide: What Should I Do if I'm Suicidal?Suicide: What will happen to you when you ask for help?Outpatient Suicide Treatment-Finding A PsychotherapistThe Initial Suicide Treatment InterviewJeremy's StoryFollow-up Suicide Therapy VisitsSuicide: Other Things You Can Do to Help Keep Yourself SafeSuicide and Self Harm Resources Helping A Friend or Family Member who is Suicidal Helping a Friend or Family Member Who is SuicidalUnderstanding Suicidal CrisesWhy Do People Become Suicidal and What Can I do to Help?How Can I Judge the Level of Suicide Risk?What Are Other Suicide Warning Signs?What Happens When a Suicidal Person Asks for Help?How Do We Find a Therapist for Suicide Outpatient Treatment?What Else Can I Do to Help a Suicidal Family Member or Friend?How Do I Handle My Own Reactions Following a Suicide or a Suicide Attempt? More Information Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Thomas Joiner, Ph.D. on Why People Commit Suicide Latest News Global Rate of Suicide Deaths Is on the DeclineTeens' Odds for Suicide May Triple While in Jail: StudyCancer Diagnosis May Quadruple Suicide RiskParents Often Unaware of Kids' Suicidal ThoughtsSuicide Risk Rises Following Cancer DiagnosisEczema Can Drive People to Thoughts of Suicide: StudyThe Jobs That Carry the Highest Suicide RiskConcussion Tied to Suicide RiskHe Lost His Son at Sandy Hook -- Now He Wants You to Know the Warning SignsGuns End More Lives by Suicide Than MurderHealth Tip: Warning Signs of SuicideChronic Pain May Drive Some to Suicide1 in 5 College Students So Stressed They Consider SuicideSoldiers' Suicide Attempts Often Come Without Prior Mental Health DiagnosisU.S. Deaths From Suicide, Drugs Surpass DiabetesWhen Head Injuries Make Life Too Hard, Suicide Risk May RiseParents' Religious Beliefs May Affect Kids' Suicide Risk: StudyU.S. Murder, Suicide Rates Climbing AgainMedia Reports of Celeb Suicides May Trigger 'Copycat' TragediesCould Suicides Rise Along With Global Temperatures?U.S. Suicide Rates on the RiseRace May Play Role in Kids' Suicide RiskBig Rise Seen in U.S. Kids, Teens Attempting SuicidePeople With Opioid Use Disorder Have High Suicide RateMany Opioid Overdoses May Be SuicidesTime-Related Deployment Factors Predict Suicide Attempt RiskKetamine Nasal Spray Shows Promise Against Depression, Suicide'Cutting,' Self-Harm Greatly Raise Suicide Risk for TeensStrong State Firearm Policies, Lower Firearm Suicide Rate TiedTeen Boys Who Attempt Suicide More Likely to Abuse as AdultsNew National Suicide Statistics at a Glance Questions and Answers How Can I Convince My Suicidal MD Husband To Be Evaluated?No Clue What To Do. Help?In A Bad SituationWhen Psychotherapy Does Not HelpDepression TreatmentTherapist rights to contact EmployerDoes a therapist have to report me as suicidal if I tell her I self injure? OCD Will I Ever? Self-Injury / Self-Harm: How do I stop cutting myself?Psych major wants to get her life back after being raped and attempting suicideA Friend in NeedMild Personality Disorderhard decisionMy husband won't take his medicineWhat is the point of life?Regular thoughts of killing myselfI'm a cutter and can't remember anythingDoes thinking of suicide lead to suicide?I Sometimes CutWhen To Ask For Suicide HelpInability To Express MyselfSuicidalSuicidal FriendSuicidal TeenSelf-Harming Attention SeekerHer Only FriendIs This Depression?Hate Ex-BoyfriendPotentially Suicidal BoyfriendTalking DiceSelf-injurerSuicide Threat Relationships (a long one)Therapy for CuttersDeep Feelings of SuicideSelf-Injuring SisterSelf-InjuryThe Aftermath of SuicidePoly-addiction?CuttingSeverely DepressedThreatened by Suicide if I Leave Videos Developing the Family Intervention for Suicide Prevention (FISP)Addressing the Rise of Teen SuicideFeeling down? Let's talk - Prevention of suicide among adolescents NPW 2017: Suicide and Substance Use in Young People Suicide Warning SignsHow to Ask if Someone is SuicidalSuicide Tops Injury Deaths Assessment and Intervention with Suicidal Clients: Volume 2Assessment and Intervention with Suicidal Clients: Volume 1Assessment and Intervention with Suicidal Clients: Volume 3Preventing suicide: a global imperative Youth Suicide RiskPreventing Death by Suicide-Strategies to Help Children, Youth and Families The bridge between suicide and life Beyond the Data -- Preventing Suicide: A Comprehensive Public Health Approach Preventing Suicide: A Comprehensive Public Health ApproachFor Those Considering SuicideHow to Help Someone Who is Suicidal Teen Suicide PreventionReach Out - Preventing Teen Suicide Suicide Prevention with Lynn KeaneAddressing Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Substance Abuse Treatment Preventing and Addressing Suicide: Everyone Plays a Role Suicide Signs Links [2] Associations[3] Community[2] Government[16] Information[1] CEUs[2] Training[1] Self-Help[24] Videos[1] Blogs[6] Apps Book Reviews A Sadly Troubled HistoryAliveAutopsy of a Suicidal MindBloodlettingBoy InterruptedComprehending SuicideCrossesDuplicityEight Stories UpFatal AttachmentsHeavier than HeavenHer HusbandHistory of SuicideHow I Stayed Alive When My Brain Was Trying to Kill MeHuman Dignity and Assisted DeathLeaving YouLife InterruptedLike the Red PandaMaking Sense of SuicideMyths about SuicideNight Falls FastNo Right TurnOne in ThirteenRelational Suicide AssessmentSilent GriefSuicidalSuicidal Behavior in Children and AdolescentsSuicideSylviaSylvia PlathSylvia Plath ReadsThe Art of MisdiagnosisThe Clinical Science of Suicide PreventionThe Final LeapThirteen Reasons WhyUnholy Ghost

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My husband is an MD who is finishing his residency and starting a new fellowship in a couple weeks. We have been married for almost seven years, and he has gradually exhibited more extreme inappropriate reactions to minor irritations and perceived slights. Things are either "right" or "wrong" and "people who do stupid things deserve to be berated so they learn their lesson and don't do it again." If I sleep in on the weekend, it's because I don't want to spend time with him However, when we do spend time together, he doesn't want to talk or do anything in particular. On the other hand, he can be sweet, thoughtful, and has always held providing for us and loyalty to friends as very important.

Last Friday we went to his graduation where several things severely irritated him. When we came home, he sat outside in the rain for a half hour, then came inside and was trying to hang an electrical extension cord over the eyebeam in the basement to hang himself when I caught him. He told me to close the basement door, turn up the TV and pretend nothing was happening. I of course refused and eventually ended up putting him to bed. During the course of the night, he said he had made a rational decision that his life would never be worthwhile, human life and society as a whole is meaningless, and I should respect his decision. He said if he has a right to life, he also has a right to death, and my stopping him was proving I did not care about him. He said he'd been thinking about suicide since he was eight, and that if I stopped him now, he would just bide his time until later. He then went on to describe all the times when he's alone when I wouldn't be able to intervene. He has said if I contact anyone or have him committed, he will file divorce papers the day he is released from the mandatory holding period and I will never see him again. He said he can easily fool people into thinking everything is fine, and I doubt he would be held longer than the mandated maximum of a few days.

I want to bring up the topic of evaluation and therapy again, when he's not in the middle of a crisis, but I don't know the best way to begin. He is resistant,  he says as a doctor himself, he is trained in all illness, and no one else could tell him anything he doesn't already know. He has also balked at the idea of medications because he doesn't want the mental side effects they can produce.

I love my husband and can tell he is in such pain. I want to help him with all my heart and don't know how.

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