Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide by Kay Redfield Jamison

Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide Reviews

• 
  Ahmed

  ظلمة تتهاوى..محاولة لفهم الانتحار.....كي ريدفيلد جاميسون
  ترجمة: طلال العمري..هدى متبولي
  
  انتهيت منه ولم ينتهي مني، كتاب عظيم وفارق وملهم بطريقة تعجز الكتابة عن وصفها، كتاب يخاطبنا جميعا، كل من شعر بوحدة أو حزن أو اكتئاب، وكل من فقد عزيز عليه بسبب تلك الأسباب سيجد في هذا الكتاب شرح لكل ما سبق، سيجد مؤانسة روحه ومشاركة آلامه، بطريقة علمية سلسة بسيطة، بقلم أستاذة علم نفس عظيمة كتبت هذا الكتاب لأجل صديقها العزيز المنتحر.
  الكتاب في جو من المشاركة الوجدانية مرعب، كأنك قاعد في جلسة علاج نفسي ممتعة ومؤلمة، جرعة دواء متكاملة.
  
  اقرأوه حيث ثقفتموه، ضعوه على لوائح أعظم الكتب، واجعلوه أولوية للاقتناء في أي فرصة ومناسبة.
• 
  Mike

  I'm reluctant to commit to "paper" the thoughts and feelings that Night Falls Fast evoked. It's - obviously - going to function as a triggering experience for many depressed people. And it will be very distressing for people who have either considered, romanticized, or settled on suicide. Chronicling my emotional engagement with the book here - going through all of that again - would be too exhausting. It's something, truth be told, I want to put behind me.
  
  An important thing for sufferers of depression who are considering suicide is that they know they are not alone. Night Falls Fast all too often stresses how singular the suffering is, often how difficult it is to express and impossible to communicate. That is true. But it comes very subtly with the conclusion that, well, yes, it's incredibly isolating. As a depressed person, I felt more alone and "outside." It talks at length about how the proximity of pertinent or salient suicides will often lead to "suicide clusters" or imitative behavior, and yet here we have a book that discusses all facets of the crime. It may not condone the romanticization or the arguments by which suicides come to their resolutions, but it mentions them, and I can't imagine it would be less than frightening if those arguments sounded familiar to the reader. I am by no means saying Night Falls Fast is hypocritical, or doing the wrong thing. Just be careful.
  
  To the book's detriment it spends a lot of time on inconclusive findings but still plants the seed of possibility-of-truth, which I think can mess with your head. The phrase "is x times more likely than" occurs more often than my brain can fitfully process. The statistics and neurological components are fine, but disorienting. People seeking some answers in Night Falls Fast will find a sobering amount of inconclusiveness and debate. Once again there are confusing roadblocks due to statistical methodologies and research ethics, and it once again comes down to ferreting out the "nurture" from the "nature," as it so often is with everything. Insofar as I've come to "understand suicide" from the book, well...I don't know. A lot of it has been illuminated, for better or for worse. For worse, possibly, depending on who you are. Just be careful.
  
  The greatness of the book is in its framing of suicide as a public health problem, and its framing of firearms control as in conjunction with mental health. Nothing so elegantly links the gun control issue to mental health quite like the amount of people who murder themselves by blowing their own heads off. Suicide kills so, so, so many people. It is violent and impulsive more often than not, and guns help that along. Yet I don't remember suicide entering the gun control debate; we're mostly concerned with if they will kill others. Sadly, the odds are that, if you are shot with a gun, it's by your own hand. The best parts of this book - the Meriwether Lewis essay is excellent, by the by - are the ones that frame suicide as a public health problem and the product of a life-threatening illness. That is a new perspective for me: it can be an offshoot of a violent, impulsive culture. I find great comfort in relinquishing the total control of the depression sufferer of his or her own life. We have so little control of anything. See what kind of head-space this book can put you in? Just be careful.
  
  Depressed people may find themselves empathizing with the self-condemned here, and not in the healthiest way. It gives some reports about the recovery of the living and the loved ones that will probably be more "encouraging" than not. If you want to kill yourself and the only thing holding you back is how it will hurt those around you, do not read this book. It gives hope to those left behind, but if you're thinking about leaving people behind, just be careful.
  
  I would never kill myself. But in my copy of the book, there is a line that says suicide is a "permanent solution to a temporary problem." But I managed to write in the side, "But what if living is the problem?" Life is still temporary, of course. I don't think I've entered as dark a head-space. Sometimes looking to empathize and understand others and their actions will mess with your head more than is healthy. It's a good book, but for the love of Christ, be careful.
  
• 
  Thomas

  "Suicide is a particularly awful way to die: the mental suffering leading up to it is usually prolonged, intense, and unpalliated. There is no morphine equivalent to ease the acute pain, and death not uncommonly is violent and grisly. The suffering of the suicidal is private and inexpressible, leaving family members, friends, and colleagues to deal with an almost unfathomable kind of loss, as well as guilt. Suicide carries in its aftermath a level of confusion and devastation that is, for the most part, beyond description."
  
  A gripping, masterful book about a topic shrouded in horror and sadness. Clinical psychologist and bestselling author of memoir An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison delves into the issue of suicide with precision and aplomb. She treats the subject with a fitting mixture of objective analysis and emotion, never forgetting her main goal: to illuminate the darkness surrounding suicide so that we can better understand and prevent it. Jamison shows her empathy for those left behind in this passage:
  
  "All of what our colleague said was true, however. Suicide is awful beyond expression for those who have to spend their lives with its reality. No one who is parent or child, a brother or a sister, a friend, a doctor or a patient would say otherwise. Most would agree with him that it is, on the face of it, a selfish act; most have yelled in their hearts, if not out loud, 'How could you have done this to me?' All have asked themselves over and over again, and then a thousand times beyond, Why? What could I have done differently? Why?"
  
  Just by writing this book Jamison acts as an inspiration, as she highlights how she, an attempt survivor, can benefit others as well as herself by contributing her time and knowledge to the topic of suicide. She examines multiple facets of suicide: its history, its connotations, its psychological implications, its biological underpinnings, and more. Redfield exhibits her research experience by going into specific detail within several areas, such as within the section about methods and through all of the well-known figures she includes, ranging from Meriwether Lewis to John Wilson. She incorporates personal letters and journals of those who have died by suicide, alongside statistics about suicide and ways to ensure the media portrays the issue with due sensitivity. A quote that stood out to me from the chapter about neurobiology and neuropathology:
  
  "Alone, a single risk factor - either predisposing or precipitating - may only slightly increase the odds that an individual will kill himself. But some, such as a genetic or other biological predisposition, especially when coupled with a severe psychiatric disorder, are particularly ominous. When the threshold is set low from birth and the triggers kick in, the likelihood of suicide may become unstoppably high. A slight affront or loss may quickly create a flash point from a lethal mix of elements. It is as with fire: dry grass and high winds may remain, in themselves, only dangerous possibilities, elements of combustion. But if lightning falls across the grass, the chance of fire increases blindingly fast: it leaps from slim to given."
  
  Overall, a difficult, thorough, and worthwhile read I would recommend to anyone interested in the topic of suicide and feels that they stand in a healthful place of mind to engage with the subject. Jamison treats the issue with the seriousness it deserves, as well as the empathy it requires. She emerges as a brave and fierce voice, an educated champion shedding light on the issue of mental health, a matter that touches us all.
• 
  Kirsten

  Jamison begins this excellent book by describing suicide in the same terms that one might describe a particularly awful disease: "Suicide is a particularly awful way to die: the mental suffering leading up to it is usually prolonged, intense, and unpalliated," she writes. "There is no morphine equivalent to ease the acute pain, and death not uncommonly is violent and grisly." This sets the tone for the book, which is unflinching and frequently painful to read, yet the author also infuses the information and narratives with a deep sense of compassion and understanding.
  
  After reading William Styron's excellent Darkness Visible, I was struck with the way that many memoirs and other books on depression dance around the subject of suicide. Just about every depressive's memoir describes the author's bout of suicidal ideation or his or her suicide attempt, yet at the same time many books on depression seem to go out of their way to divorce suicide from depression and manic-depressive illness. There is a strong desire, it seems, to stress that not everyone who is depressive will attempt or commit suicide, and that not everyone who commits suicide is depressive or otherwise mentally ill. While this is true, it also muddies the very strong connection between mental illness and suicide, perhaps to the detriment of many.
  
  Jamison seeks to remedy this by very strongly stating that suicide is indeed most common in people with mental illness, diagnosed or not, and backs up this claim with a great deal of research. She also explores research into when people are at their most vulnerable, which is sometimes surprising. For example, one of the most dangerous times in terms of suicide is the period directly after a patient has been released from the hospital. At first this seems counterintuitive, but it actually makes sense -- if someone has been hospitalized for depression or another mental illness, they have been in a fairly sheltered and safe environment. Upon release, however, not only is the patient suddenly confronted with the problem of picking up their life where they left off and dealing with practicalities like returning to work and daily life, but there is also an increased risk of medication noncompliance. Jamison also elaborates on one theory as to why some suicides seem to be provoked by the use of antidepressants: in many cases, when a person is deep in the throes of depression, they lack the energy and wherewithal to carry out suicide plans. Perversely, once the antidepressants begin to work, the patient starts to feel just well enough to carry out plans they had only considered before.
  
  Jamison is also not afraid to bring a human element to the book. Interspersed with her clear reportage of scientific research into suicide are specific accounts of individuals who committed or attempted suicide -- including Jamison herself.
  
  Overall, I feel like this is a cruicially important book. It's especially useful to those who have come into contact in some way with mental illness and suicide, but I think pretty much everyone could benefit from reading it and achieving greater understanding of this issue.
  
  
• 
  Heather

  Lots of good information abounds in this book. I appreciated the mixture of clinical information and artistic commentary on the subject. But as a sibling of someone who committed suicide I am left with one question/concern. What of all those out there who are mentally ill and tending towards suicide who can not get help. What of the men who can not hold steady jobs, who are in and out of jail, who end up in half-way houses or on the street. What of the ill who have no health insurance, who can not afford to pay for medication, let alone physchiatrist and psychologist visits? Who is there to help them? It is all good to advocate help for those who can gain access to it, but what about the millions who have little or no access? They fall between the cracks and are found later, alone and dead. And I also wonder, can we really prevent suicide for someone who has lost hope?
  
• 
  hayatem

  يمر العالم بكهفي لكنه أبداً لا يراني.— راندال جاريل|السيدة في حديقة حيوانات واشنطن.-ص151
  
  "الحزن لا يموت"—فان غوخ
  
  الاكتئاب بمختلف أنماطه، اضطراب المزاج، الفصام، العصاب، ادمان الكحول والمخدرات، وغيرها من الأمراض النفسية- الذهانية والعقلية. وكذا الأمراض الجسدية المستعصية كالسرطان، الايدز، وأخرى. الشيخوخة، والوحد��، الاندفاع الاهتياج، الاحباط والعنف والألم العقلي، تقود الإنسان أحياناً، في مرحلة ما، حين يخسر معركته مع الداخل أو مع جحيمه الذاتي-ظلماته القابعة في دركات النفس إلى وضع حد لمعاناته أو لحياته عن طري�� الانتحار.
  كي ريدفيلد جاميسون حاولت ذاتها قتل نفسها مرة بعد صراعها لسنوات مع مرض الاكتئاب الهوسي ولكنها فشلت، وقادتها هذه المحاولة الفاشلة إلى طريق الحياة مرة أخرى، بل كانت سبباً في تعمقها في دراسة الامراض العقلية والانتحار. تحاول كي ريدفيلد جاميسون عبر هذا الكتاب الغني بالكثير من الأبحاث والدراسات والأرقام حول الانتحار قراءة عقلية المنتحر أو من عنده الاستعداد الجيني-البيولوجي أو النفسي لذلك، ومحاولة فهمه، سعياً منها على نشر الوعي الفردي والمجتمعي بضرورة مكافحة الانتحار والوقاية منه.
  
  وعلى الرغم من وجود الكثير من الأسباب أو الأعراض أو بعض المؤشرات التحذيرية على امكانية اقدام انسان ما على فعل الانتحار، إلا أن التوقع المسبق وبشكل جازم على أنه دون غيره قادر أو يسعى إلى هذا الفعل، يظل في موضع غير المتوقع أو مجرد تكهنات، وتظل جميع الأبحاث والدراسات بمختلفها عاجزة أوقاصرة عن التنبؤ أو تقديم العلاج المناسب أو الفعال أو الوقاية الكافية لمنع فرد ما من انهاء حياته في الوقت المناسب، بهذه الصورة التراجيدية أو المأساوية.
  
  ضم الكتاب عدد من رسائل المنتحرين للوقوف على دوافعهم أو تبيان شدة مرضهم النفسي-العقلي أو لأسباب أخرى.
  
  وقدمت الكاتبة نماذج مختلفة لشخصيات عادية أو كان لها أثر في تاريخ مجتمعاتها أو على الأدب أو الطب أو في مختلف مناحي الحياة الأخرى، بغرض التوضيح للقارئ أن آفة الانتحار لا تستثني أحداً، وأن العقل الهادئ مليء بما لا يمكن توقعه أو تصوره. وأن النفس لا يمكن إدراكها كما يتصور البعض.
  
  ان معركة الحياة أشرس من معركة الموت ذاته!
  
  اقتباسات:
  
  من رسالة انتحار
  " الموت عندي اليوم،
  كرائحة شجرة مر
  كالجلوس تحت الشراع في يوم عاصف.
  الموت عندي اليوم،
  كرائحة زهرة لوتس
  كالجلوس ع��ى ضفاف النشوة الثملة
  أتوق للموت اليوم،
  كما يتوق لبيته،
  من قضى سنين طوالاً في الأسر." ص81-82
  
  "الحادي والعشرون: نمت بشكل مريع. صليت في أسى، واستيقظت في اهتياج.
  الثاني والعشرون: ليسامحني الرب. آمين.
  نهاية
  كفاكم إساءة لي في هذا العالم القاسي— لير."— من مذكرات الرسام البريطاني بينيامين هايدون. عانى من اكتئاب هوسي عنيف. ص87
  
  "ولكن السؤال المطروح دائماً إذا ماكنت أرغب في تجنب هذه الكآبة…
  هذه الأسابيع التسعة تدفع المرء للوثب في المياه العميقة… للقفز في البئر من دون حماية من هجوم الحقيقة."— فيرجينيا وولف. ص159
  
  "اليد التي تثير زوبعة في حوض السباحة
  وتثير الرمال المتحركة ثم تهيج الرياح العاصفة،
  هي ذاتها التي تسحب شراع كفني."— ديلان توماس. ص175
  
  "هناك عنف يكمن داخلي، حارٌ بشبه دماء الموت. أستطيع قتل نفسي أو حتى- أعلم ذلك الآن- قتل شخص آخر. يمكنني قتل أية امرأة أو جرح أي رجل. أعتقد بأنني أستطيع. كنت أضغط بشدة على أسناني لأسيطر على حركة يديّ لكنني حصلت على توهج نجوم دموية في رأسي كما كنت أحدق نحو فتاة جريئة. وتاق الدم للاندفاع نحوها وتمزيقها إلى أشلاء."— سيلفيا بلاث. ص 177
• 
  stephanie

  one of the best books i have seen on suicide, i should go back and read it once i finish the books i am working on now.
  
  her prose is very accessible - i can't emphasize how important and rare this is in psychological writing - in that she doesn't get caught up in jargon or theory. she knows how to personalize the subject matter, and make it relevant.
  
  the truth is, if you haven't had a suicidal impulse, then you know someone that has. this book does an excellent job of illustrating why that urge comes about, what stops some people, and what pushes some people over the edge (so to speak). there is so much about suicidology that we don't understand, but this is a great introduction to the subject, without completely depressing the reader or anything like that.
  
  she also refrains from being condescending, something i appreciate very much. she does not claim to know everything, but what she does know, she wants to share because she wants to reduce the number of suicides in the world - an excellent reason to write a book, i think.
• 
  Amy Bruestle

  Wow. What a great book! I can’t tell you how much I learned just from reading this book alone! There were so many different subjects, all relating to suicide in one way or another, and from all different kinds of places, time periods, etc. it was actually surprisingly readable and interesting! I wanted to give it a chance, but I really didn’t think that I would eead the whole thing...but I did! It even touches on Lewis and Clark! I’ve truly learned so much from this text! This is probably one of the best non fiction books that I have ever read! Especially because of how “readable” it was. It almost didn’t even feel like nonfiction! Maybe I’m just weird and liked it so much because psychology and mental disorders and substance abuse and traumatic experiences are my field of study and area of employment, but I just can’t get over how well written it was!
• 
  Shelby Kollin

  "Shortly before he killed himself, D.C. Council Chairman John Wilson spoke to the Mental Health Association about suicide and mental illness in the black community. 'Suicide,' he said, 'is the number one killer among young black people, but we call it gunfire. . . . We don't even like to talk about it. We've got to change the way America feels about depression.' He was right, as usual."
  
  "A young chemist, before committing suicide, put it succinctly: 'The question of suicide and selfishness to close friends and relative is one that I can't answer or even given an opinion. It is obvious, however, that I have pondered it and decided I would hurt them less dead than alive.'"
  
  If I could leave a quote from each chapter in my review, I would. Kay Redfield Jamison writes a non-fiction book on suicide with facts, emotion, and a haunting mood that matches the depths of a mind in its darkest place. The author has attempted suicide herself and she went to emotionally painful lengths to talk with many other suicidal people in order to get the serious impact of the issues of suicide on paper.
  
  My father killed himself by hanging in November 2006 when I was 14 years old. I've talked with many others who have lost someone to suicide and their stories, reactions, feelings, and opinions on the subject have all been different from mine. Jamison covers it all from what I could see. I learned so much about many different mental health conditions (especially bipolar disorder and clinical depression,) about the difference in mourning between that of a spouse, child, sibling, parent, or friend left behind, about how media can help spread the contagion of suicide or help prevent it, about how we can all help ourselves, our loved ones, and even strangers who are suffering from any condition that puts them at a high risk for suicide.
  
  This book was published in 1999 and I'm only just now reading it in 2019, but most of it is still very relevant and important. I highly recommend to anyone who wants to better understand an illness that currently ranks as the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. I was concerned it would be boring and tedious to read with the amount of data, statistics, and facts that were in it, but the author adds in poetry and letters and essays and all kinds of other emotional factors that helped make this a great read and easy to understand.
• 
  Amy

  If you have ever been close to someone who has completed suicide, please consider reading this book. This is the definitive book on suicide and examines the topic through many different lenses (personal, psychological, sociological, historical, legal etc) with expertise and care. Dr. Kay Jamison, who is the world's leading expert on bipolar disorder, and is also a multiple suicide attempt survivor herself, does an excellent job at examining the subject in an easily accessible manner.
  I read this book about 2 years after a close friend completed suicide, and found that it helped me understand some things better, and helped to process the event. It's packed with information that really challenges you to think and look at the issue through a different angle/perspective. I think this book would also be helpful for people who are just in the wake of processing a recent suicide. It provides information that is comforting (although that may sound odd) for those who have recently lost someone, but also helps people finally process a suicide years after the fact.
  If you ever have a chance to go hear Jamison speak, do so! She is a marvelous speaker and does and incredible job at explaining very clinical topics with passion and empathy. That combination of qualities is pretty rare in the field.
• 
  rachel

  Suicide, both the completed act and ideation of, is a subject that I've had to deal with much more than I'd care to. I made the mistake of reading this book while on a bus back to college and what I remember most of the experience is how embarrassing it was to be sitting next to a stranger, making a deeply personal connection with a book and crying without restraint.
  
  But, if you think of all of the smart, creative, generous people whose lives have been cut short by depression culminating in suicide, it's impossible not to be sad. This book tells the stories of some of those people; the chapter on Meriwether Lewis (one half of Lewis and Clark) is particularly affecting. If the historical and sociological facts Jamison presents don't touch you, the personal accounts will.
  
  Often considered a taboo subject, suicide is something that needs to be talked about so that more people can be discouraged from doing it. The understanding (or maybe just the empathy) that this book gives is essential. So while I felt embarrassed about crying on the bus, I'm not embarrassed to have read this book in public.
• 
  Anne Jordan-Baker

  In the epilogue, Kay Redfield Jamison writes, "I was naive to underestimate how disturbing it would be to write this book." I bet. It was disturbing to read, too. I love good nonfiction, and this is it: beautiful structure, sentences that I wish I could write, clarity, poetry. Breathtaking. On the other hand, the subject matter is a horror: suicide, which is an ugly and gritty reality that cannot be made pretty or ok. I loved this book, but it was definitely disorienting in its attention to such a frightening subject.
• 
  AlAli

  كتاب عميق و حزين لمحاولة فهم الإنتحار .. "انظر للأحياء ، احبهم، وتماسك"
• 
  Mohamed Gamal

  الكتاب ده مثير جدا للاهتمام ومحفز جدا على الحديث.
  الاكتئاب والامراض النفسية عموما الي هي السبب الأهم والأكبر للأنتحار بلا اي وعي حقيقي في مجتمعنا ومع ذلك هي ترند، وفي كتب كتير جدا مؤخرا بتتكلم عنها لكنها كتب سطحية وساذجة وأحيان كتير بيبقى ضررها أكتر بكتير من نفعها.
  ومن هنا تبدأ أهمية الكتاب ده، ده مش كتاب سطحي- خصوصا لغير المتخصصين- ده كتاب جيد جدا ومتعوب فيه متعوب في كتابته ومتعوب في ترجمته وبيعرض معلومات علمية ومعاها قصص حقيقية بشكل سلس وجميل.
  شخصيا الكتاب علم معايا وهو أحد الكتب الي بتبقى دايما في الذاكرة وتتقري مرة بعد مرة، كتاب ميتقريش مرة واحدة وواثق ان كل مرة هيظهرلي جوانب مشوفتهاش فيه، يمكن طبعا بحكم دراستي في معلومات كتير كنت عارفها بس الكتاب كان لسه قادر يقدملي جديد ويوريني الموضوع من ناحية المريض مش بس من ناحية الطب الجاف.
  انا بتمنى ان ترجمة كتب زي ده تكتر واننا نشوف اهتمام بكتب محترمة ومتعوب فيها زي ده كتير وان مجال الطب النفسي يتحول الاهتمام بيه من ترند واستهلاك على الفاضي لثقاقة حقيقة واتمنى ده كله طبعا يتم بسعر للكتب ارخص من ده شوية 😂
  واحد من اهم قراءات السنة الي بصراحة رغم ضغط الكلية فيها قراءات ممتازة
• 
  Alien Bookreader

  What to say ... what to say .... It started out great and progressively got more disappointing.
  
  This is one of the top suicide books on goodreads, despite being so outdated. This is telling of how little is written about suicide. This outdated book tries to understand suicide, but doesn't fully deliver.
  
  When I started reading it I enjoyed it, especially the statistics on average length of a suicide note, the fact that suicidal people often see a doctor in the month before suicide, that summer is the most popular time for a suicide. The documentation of people's suicidal journals and suicide notes were very relevant and one of the strengths of the book (to see the insider view of suicide and not the outsider medicalization of it.)
  
  Besides the mass statistics there are not many deep dives into which symptoms start first, which circumstances and mental states are associated with suicide. This is a mere gloss over.
  
  The final chapters were most disappointing: under-researched, highly opinion-based and totally outdated. It claims that there are no long lasting effects of a parent's suicide on a child, when most recent trauma research shows that death of a parent during a someone's childhood is highly correlated with depression in adulthood. This book is old, so the research is outdated. Now we know that death of parents (including suicide) affect people.
  
  The final chapter just keep repeating that suicidal people cannot keep their pain to themselves, so it reaches their friends and families. There's little research in the book to back it up, and little said about the people who commit suicide without sharing their pain with friends and family. It just seems like some kind of guilt ridden, personal opinion the author holds, that she couldn't keep out of the book.
  
  The biggest weak point is the author's inability to handle nuance surrounding suicide besides the disease model. The book just keeps hitting you with "suicide is a result of mental disease. Medicate the disease and solve the suicide!" Suicide is a far more complex issue than this model suggests, so by the end of the book I was surprised at how little this book really dived into the causes and circumstances of suicide. "Understanding Suicide" is right in the title, and somehow... I feel that this book didn't fulfill it's promise.
  
  TLDR:
  
  Strengths: Some interesting statistics, insider accounts, non-judgmental writing.
  
  Weaknesses: Considers only the disease model of suicide, not very nuanced or very deep exploration, some parts are colored with personal opinion rather than research.
• 
  Othman Alkathiri

  ظلمة تتهاوى (محاولة لفهم الانتحار) – كاي ردفيلد جاميسون
  الكتاب يتكون من ٢٩٣ صفحة تلاها ٧٢ صفحة من الهوامش والمراجع. بمجموع ٣٦٦ صفحة
  نشر الكتاب عام ١٩٩٩م وترجم عام ٢٠١٩ م
  
  تعريف بالمؤلفة:
  
  كاي جاميسون حاصلة على الدكتوراه في علم النفسي السريري، وتعمل كأستاذة للطب النفسي في جامعة جونز هوبكنز. كاي متخصصة وخبيرة في ذهان الهوس الاكتئابي -اضطراب ثنائي القطبية-. حصلت على العديد من الجوائز العلمية وتعتبر شخصية بارزة في مجالها. ألفت مجموعة من الكتب منها ذهان الهوس الاكتئابي، وعقل غير هادئ، وممسوس بالجحيم- مرض الهوس الاكتئابي ومزاجه الفني.
  
  الكتاب أشبه ما يكون ببحث علمي -مدعم بأكثر من ٥٠٠ مرجع. بالإضافة لمجموعة من التجارب الإنسانية لفهم أعمق للانتحار. الكتاب مقسم أربعة اجزاء، يندرج تحتها مجموعة من الفصول بمجموع ١٠ فصول. تضمن الجزء الأول مدخلا انسانيًا وتاريخياً للانتحار، تلاه فهم أعمق للانتحار بطبيعته النفسية والمرضية. في جزئه الثالث شرحت مسببات الانتحار البيولوجية. وانهت جزأه الاخير بطرق علاجه الدوائية وغير الدوائية.
  
  الجزء الأول:
  
  الانتحار ليس بالجديد، فالكثير من الشعوب القديمة أقدم أفرادها على سلب أرواحهم. لكنها اختلفت في تقبله:
  - فمنها من تقبل الانتحار كونه تضحية ايثارية بالنفس كالأسكيمو والإسكندنافيتين والهنود الحمر. بل وحثوا عليه بين كبار السن والمرضى.
  - وهناك من تقبله في حالات معينة كحفظ للشرف. فهو فعل لابد منه تجنبًا للأسر في العرف اليوناني.
  - وآخرون اتفقوا على تجريمه كالرومانيين وجميع الديانات السماوية.
  كذلك اختلفوا في التعامل من المنتحر:
  - فمنهم من تجنب لمسه كي لا تصيبهم اللعنة التي أصابته كالفنلنديين.
  - ومنهم من حرمه من مراسم الدفن فرموه في الانهار والغابات كالفرنسيين والنرويجيين.
  - أما في القانون الروماني يحظر توريث ممتلكات وتركة المنتحر.
  
  
  الانتحار ظل مجرمًا بالقانون إلى أن نشأت نظرة تعاطف تجاه المنتحر، كونه مختل عقليًا ومجنون في القرن الثامن والتاسع عشر. لكن تجريمه امتد لأبعد من ذلك في بعض البلدان: فبقي مجرمًا في انجلترا وويلز إلى عام ١٩٦١م، وكذلك في ايرلندا إلى عام ١٩٩٣م.
  
  ما هو جديد حقًا! هو التزايد المرعب في أعداد المنتحرين بين الشباب، حيث زادت الأعداد ٣٠٠٪؜ خلال الـ٤٥ سنة الماضية. وإن تمعنّا بشكل أدق في الإحصائيات، سنجد أن ٢٠٪؜ من طلبة الثانوية العامة في الولايات المتحدة فكر ��لو مره بالانتحار، من بينهم ١٠٪؜ من أقدم على ذلك، ومن بين هؤلاء الثلث تقريبًا من انتهى بهم الحال في حالة طبية خطيرة نتيجة محاولاتهم للانتحار.
  
  بل المرعب من ذلك هو تزايد النسب في الأطفال ما بين عمري ١٠ – و٢٤عاما، حيث زادت النسب ١٢٠٪ ما بين عامي ١٩٨٠ و١٩٩٢م. ويعزى ذلك لعدة أسباب بحسب دراسة أمريكية-فنلندية:
  - تدخين الأمهات الحوامل يزيد فرص إنجاب أطفال عنيفين، ومندفعين، بل ومدمنين.
  - كذلك الأطفال الخدج الذين لم يكتمل نموهم، فيما مضى كانوا يتوفون، هم الان يعيشون لفترة أطول نتيجة التطور الطبي لكن من الممكن ان تكون اجهزتهم العصبية أكثر ضعفًا.
  - نجاح الادوية النفسية مؤخرا مكن الزواج والانجاب للمرضي النفسيين. الذين ينجبون اطفال يعانون من الاكتئاب والاكتئاب الهوسى والفصام.
  - كذلك انخفض متوسط سن البلوغ مما جعل الأطفال ذو السن الصغيرة أكثر عرضه لفتره اطول من اعراض الاكتئاب.
  
  الجزء الثاني:
  
  في الجزء الثاني تطرقت الكاتبة لسيكولوجية الانتحار. لطالما كانت أكثر ما يبين حالة المنتحر النفسية هي تلك الرسائل التي يعدونها قبل اقدامهم على عملية الانتحار، غالبًا ما تبين الحالة الذهنية المشتتة للمنتحر، والنظرة السلبية لظروف الحياة، وهذا ينبع من أعمق درجات الاكتئاب التي يمر بها المنتحر. إن اغلب ما يسبب سيل الأفكار الانتحارية هو الاكتئاب الحاد، أو الفصام والهلوسة العقلية. اقتبس رسالتين تصف الحالة الذهنية لمنتحرين عانوا من الاكتئاب:
  - يقول راندل جريل في وصفه للآثار التراكمية لاكتئابه لزوجته: (الأمر غريب جدا.. يبدو كم ان الجينات خطفنني بعيدا وخلقن حطبة مكاني). إحساس ان يكون الشخص مجرد ظل او قشرة نفسه إحساس راسخ باليأس.
  - تقول فيرجينيا وولف في رسالة لزوجها قبل انتحارها عن معاناتها من نوبات الهوس والاكتئاب (ينتابني إحساس اكيد انني اجن مره أخرى، اشعر باننا لا نستطيع ان نخوض مره أخرى في هذه الأوقات الصعبة. لن اتعافى هذه المرة. بدأت بسماع الأصوات ولا أستطيع التركيز. لذا سأفعل ما يبدو انه أفضل ما يفعل).
  
  أما الفصام فيظهر على شكل هلوسة سمعية وبصرية. وتصور ما هو غير موجود.
  - تصف الطبيبة كارول نورث التي عانت الهلاوس والاوهام الفصامية وهي في جناح هادئ في المستشفى (استلقيت بلا حراك علي سجادة أرضية بلاستيكية لساعات، حتى أصبحت اطرافي متجمدة. من عدم الحراك... أصدرت البالوعة في وسط أرضية خرسانية أصوات خشنة وضحكات غريبة ودعتني بأسماء كريهة تردد صداها ذهابا وإيابا بين الجدان ذات البلاط الأخضر الداكان عدة مرات قبل ان تذوب في جدار ما. ظهرت وجوه مضحكة بشكل متقطع في الجانب الاخر من نافذة الباب لمراقبتي. وزواحف خلف الزجاج في حديقة الحيوان. واعتقدت في البداية ان تلك الأوجه تعود للمساعدين الذين يعودون لفحصي؛ ثم اعتقدت انهم ربما كانوا حقا الوجوه التي تطلق علي تلك أسماء كريهة. وتساءلت في ما بعد اذا ما كانت تلك الوجوة موجودة حقا ام انها مجرد منتج آخر لعقلي المضطرب)
  
  
  أما عن الأسباب فقد يعزو البعض الانتحار لظروف اجتماعية واقتصادية. لكن صعوبات الحياة قد تعجل الانتحار لكنها ليست سببه الرئيسي.
  - اقتباس من كتابthe savage god: a study of suicide لالفاريز: (أعذار الانتحار غالبا سببيه. في أحسن الاحتمالات، فهي تخفف إحساس الناجين بالذنب، وتهدئ الاذهان المنظمة وتشجع علماء الاجتماع وبحوثهم اللامتناهية في سبيل الوصول لتصنيفات ونظريات مقنعة. انها في الحقيقة مثل حادثة همشيه تافهة تشعل حرب شعواء. ان الدوافع الحقيقة التي تحمل شخصا على التخلص من حياته هي في مكان اخر؛ فهي تنتمي لعالمه الداخلي، جانحة، متناقضة، ملتوية، معقدة كمتاهة. وعلى الاغلب عصية على الابصار).
  من هنا يتوضح ان السبب الرئيسي للانتحار وسلوكياته هي معاناه داخلية من دراجات قاسية من الاكتئاب او الفصام و حالات مرضيه عقليه ونفسيه. وليست أسباب وظروف خارجية.
  
  طرق الانتحار وان اختلفت، تتفق جميعها في اصرار الشخص واقدامه التام على قتل نفسه؛ حيث يميلوا لاختيار أنسب الطرق وأكثرها فعالية، وإن مال بعضهم لمراعاة مشاعر عائلته وجعل انتحاره أقل دموية.
  
  الجزء الثالث:
  
  تطرق الجزء الثالث للانتحار بشكل بيولوجي: حيث اثبتت أكثر من دراسة أن الانتحار وسلوكياته ومسبباته من امراض نفسيه تتناقل وراثيًا بين افراد العائلة، وان لم تظهر بشكل مباشر على أجيال متتالية.
  
  إن عدد كثير من الهرمونات والنواقل العصبية لها دور كبير في ضبط تقلبات المزاج، إلا أن السيروتونين يعتبر أهم النواقل العصبية ذات الدور الأبرز في السلوكيات الانتحارية في حال انخفض مستواها عن الطبيعي. لذلك تعتبر أدوية مثبطات استرداد السيروتونين الانتقائي (Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) أهم الادوية الحديثة التي توصف لمرضى الاكتئاب لرفع مستويات السيروتونين.
  - تمت العديد من الدراسات على القردة والفئران لتحديد آثار مستويات السيروتونين المرتفعة والمنخفضة.
  o قياس مستويات السيروتونين تتم عبر تحليل لعينات البول لدراسة مستويات حمض خماسي هيدروكسي اندول اسيتيك – المختصر ب 5-HIAA الناتج من تحلل السيروتونين في الجهاز العصبي المركزي).
  o لوحظ عنة مستويات منخفضه منه تنخرط القردة والفئران في حالات من السلوكيات العنيفة، والاندفاعية، والأكثر عدوانية. ولوحظ العكس عند مستويات عالية منه.
  
  وهناك دراسات أخرى ربطت مستويات الاوميغا-٣ والاحماض الدهنية الأساسية العالية بشكل مهم في تحسين أداء السيروتونين. كذلك كثرة زيادة استهلاك المجتمعات للدهون المشبعة زاد من سواء الحال. والمقارنة أجريت على المجتمعات المستهلكة بكثرة للأسماك مثل اليابان وتايوان. حيث كانت معدلات الاكتئاب قليلة عندما تكون تغذية الافراد تحوي مستويات عالية من الاوميغا-٣ والاحماض الدهنية الأساسية ومستويات قليلة من الدهون المشبعة.
  
  تطرقت الكاتبة كذلك للأنماط الموسمية للانتحار، وفي اي الفصول تكثر الحالات.
  
  الجزء الرابع:
  
  تتنوع الأدوية لعلاج الانتحار وسلوكياته، لكن "الليثيوم" هو أكثرها فعالية بالرغم من اعراضه الجانبية المزعجة، واختلاف فعاليته على البعض. هناك أيضًا عدة من مضادات الاكتئاب التي لها دور كبير في تحسين الحالة الذهنية للمريض وإبعاده عن وحول الأفكار الانتحارية كمثبطات استرداد السيروتونين الانتقائي كما هو مذكور في آخر أجزاء الكتاب.
  
  تقول الكاتبة البريطانية موراغ كويت عن دور الطبيب الذي أنقذ حياتها بعد معاناة من الذهان المتكرر " أن تجلس بهدوء في غرفة الكشف لتتحدث مع أحدهم؛ لن يظهر للعامة كعمل بطولي أو درامي. لكن في الطب، ثمة العديد من الطرق المختلفة لإنقاذ الحياة. هذه الطريقة واحدة منها"
  
  
  وختمت كاي كتابها بشطر شعري، من قصيدة “استياء” للشاعر دوغلاس دون:
  “انظر للأحياء، أحبهم، وتماسك”.
• 
  Aslihan Fer

  İnsan psikolojisi üzerine farkındalık yaratabilecek bir eser. Uzun süre elimde sürünmeseydi daha verimli bir okuma olabilirdi yine de hayatının belli bir döneminde psikolojik bir rahatsızlık yaşamış olanlar, intiharın nedenini nasılını, toplum üzerindeki etkilerini nasıl önlenebileceğini öğrenmek anlamak isteyenler için değerli ve yararlı bir kitap olduğunu düşünüyorum.
• 
  Jason

  expertly examining a difficult subject The applicability of this book to my life is not appropriate. This book is far too academic for my CURRENT taste. I would have chewed this one up in seconds in graduate school, but alas that was two years ago and reading this just brought about stress. THAT SAID, its amazing, well written, well researched, and carefully constructed. It is by far the best book on suicide, and the most approachable that I have EVER read. it's a shame graduate school did not force us to read this one.
   
  the book is finely tuned. Each chapter has numerous vignettes which support, lead into, or develop each chapter. the chapters are well researched (really, really well) and easily understood. My only recommendation is that burn out can be quite high if read front to cover as one would read a novel. the content is unforgiving, raw, and very easily conveyed. Study after study is explored with personal reflection (if one has read her previous books you may get a faint echo of unquiet mind). My mind, however was not quiet while reading this and is still spinning; very very fast. there is A TON of information in this book; enough so that i must purchase a copy and highlight the hell out of it.
   
  there is information in here for anyone; clients, change agents, allies, etc!
   
  read with caution, however for both its content is unforgiving and will, even if you have no experience with suicide, stir you and cause an overwhelming urge to scream/cry/put the book down wide eyed... or just go take a long cold shower. (i did all of the above, twice).
   
  i enjoyed the first 150 pages the most, as they felt more personable.... and then my attention was then pulled back in during the discussion of the brain, diet, etc. Bite this one off in sections, and take your time. weave it in and out with another book, because it will consume you. 
   
  Oh and onward to one complaint. I would have enjoyed this book more if it was mirrored with something else. perhaps it it wasnt fully focused on suicide, but i really have NO idea what i would pair it with. All i know is that im exhausted and going for a long, long walk through the city. 
   
  Post notes: i actually re-read portions (particularly those related to treatment)—since my brain was fried, my emotions jagged and non-existent, and my body physically tired, from reading this—and i have to say, that revisiting these sections was rewarding. 
• 
  Jennifer

  This was one of the books that helped me out of a very dangerous frame of mind. Reading about other people in despair helped me realize I was stronger than I thought, that things could get better, and that I could seek help if I needed it.
• 
  Ivana

  This is a really difficult book to read. Jamison offers a unique perspective on mental illness and suicide- both as a psychiatrist and someone suffering from mental illness. Parts of this book are harrowing.
• 
  Turane

  Kitabın əsas mövzusu intihardır. Tanıdığım, yada haqqında bir şeylər bildiyim insanların intiharı həmişə mənə qeyri-adi, həmd�� bir o qədər başa düşülməz gəlib. İnsan əlbəttə bilir dünyanın hər yerində hər gün intihar edən insanlar var və mənə elə gəlirdi ki, onların da ölümü tanıdığım insanlarınkı kimi özünəməxsus şəkildədir. Amma kitabdakı statistikaları gördükcə adam fikirləşir ki, əslində heç biri qeyri-adi, başa düşülməz deyil, hətta çox asanlıqla əvvəlcədən təxmin etmək də mümkündür. Yəni qısacası statistikalar ölümləri bəsitləşdirir.
  
  Amma bir tərəfdən də kitabda həm intihar etmiş yazarların, həmdə adi insanların intihara qədərki həyatları, hissləri, düşəncələri verilib. Bu hissələrdə isə insan tam əksinə bir-birindən nə qədər fərqləndiklərini görür.
  
  Birdə kitabda intiharın növləri verilib. Əslində bəzilərinin qarşısını almaq üçün sadəcə azca diqqətli olmaq kifayət edərkən, bəzilərinin isə qarşısını almaq üçün vaxtında uzun müddətli addımlar atmaq lazımdır.
  
  Ümumilikdə kitabdan müxtəlif nəticələr çıxarmaq mümkündür. İntihar etmiş yazarların hiss etdiklərini oxuyub qaza gəlib həyatın yaşamağa dəyər olmadığını düşünüb intihar da edə bilərsiz. Yada yazarın etdiyi kimi kimlərinsə bu vəziyyətə dur deməli olduğunu düşünüb, qolları sıvayıb araşdırmalar edib, bu mövzuda daha əvvəl atılmamış addımlar ata bilərsiz :)
  
  Bu arada yazar manik- depressivdir, halüsinasiyalar görür və buna baxmayaraq bir psixoloq kimi fəaliyyətini, araşdırmalarını davam etdirib. Etdiyi şeyin əslində nə qədər çətin olduğunu görmək üçün günlük kimi yazdığı "durulmayan bir kafa" kitabını oxuya bilərsiz.
• 
  إيمان الشريف

  بينما كنت أتصفح عناوين الكتب لأقرر شراء بعضها، لفت نظري هذا العنوان فوضعته جانباً لأفكر في أمره، دون أن أنتبه لاسم الكاتب. وحالما انتبهت لاسم المؤلفة اشتريته على الفور، فمنذ أن قرأت مذكراتها الشخصية "عقل غير هادئ" قبل ثمانية أعوام، وأنا أتمنى أن يُترجم لها كتاب آخر للعربية، وتحققت أمنيتي هذا العام.
  
  تمتلك الدكتورة جاميسون مقدرة مثيرة للإعجاب على تبسيط الأمور الطبية، وشرحها بسلاسة بحيث يفهمها القارئ العادي الذي لا يمتلك أي خلفية عن الموضوع.
  
  أعتقد أن من حق قرائها الآن أن يطمعوا بترجمة المزيد من كتبها المفيدة والمثرية للمكتبة العربية.
• 
  sam

  Highly stigmatized and always worth learning more about. Very well written and a pleasure to read.
  Maybe a little too optimistic in how we'll treat the problem. But perhaps that's necessary when writing about this subject matter.
• 
  David

  10/10 Hard, uff really really hard. Madame Redfield!!
• 
  Felicia

  This is very poignant, all I could think was wow there are people who can put these feelings into words. I read this while severely depressed and while not depressed. its interesting for me to contrast my mental state while reading this. I'd like for more neural typical people to read this to grasp an understanding and hopefully break the taboo.
• 
  John Jr.

  Read as research for a play about suicide. There's much to value here, particularly the individual cases recounted.
  
  On the other hand, there are problems. One of the book's annoyances is Jamison's excessive fondness for statistics. A greater shortcoming is that she writes confidently from one side of a still unsettled question about the relationship between the mind and the brain, assuming that what happens at a neurochemical level in the brain is the cause of what happens in the mind in terms of emotions, thoughts, and behavior. Without getting into philosophy or cognitive science, I can suggest that the mind-body problem is yet to be resolved and that the mind is known to influence the brain as well. To put it in other terms, it’s as if everyone in Jamison’s book could say (from her point of view), “I didn’t kill myself, my mental disorder did,” which practically removes choice from the picture. (This isn't to say that SSRIs and other antidepressants shouldn't be tried, only that chemistry isn't likely always to be the problem.)
  
  Most important, despite a pretty broad range of historical gleanings, Night Falls Fast remains bound by the medical view that's widely adopted in the West nowadays, proposing that suicide is the result of depression or one of the other psychiatric disorders. As I recall now (at least five years after reading it), Jamison gives short shrift to, maybe doesn't discuss at all, the other possible reasons for which one may kill oneself, of which examples can be found in the present as well as the past: as a protest, as the ultimate sacrifice for a cause, as an action entailed by a code of honor, as the only way to defy an intolerable situation, etc. This omits Cato the Younger, possibly Jesus, many instances of heroism in battle and beyond, and anyone whose painful, debilitating, and fatal disease leads them to seek an exit in death. It seems to me a serious shortcoming in a book whose subtitle is Understanding Suicide.
• 
  Anne

  After several teen suicides and attempted suicides in my hometown this past year, I started to feel incredibly helpless. Despite the obvious sadness of young lives lost, I felt overwhelming frustration. It is often easy for people to dismiss teen suicide as the result of immaturity or a lack of perspective - heartbreak over unrequited love or a rejection letter from Harvard. What people ignore is the reality - that the majority of suicides, those of teenagers and adults - are the result of chonic and untreated mental illness. Jamison's thorough and exhausting book attempts to get to the bottom of the frightening epidemic around the world - of men and women, from all walks of life. Jamison explores all aspects of suicide - from analyzing the data to detemine which age groups are killing themselves, to their purported reasons for doing so. She looks at the methods that people use and the notes they leave behind. She includes stories of famous people in history, as well as tragic examples from today. Jamison's book is haunting, but I think so important. It is with all this back story that Jamison then turns to the most important question: how do we prevent suicide? While there are obviously no easy answers, Jamison explores suggestions for how to talk about mental illness as a predictor for suicide, how to recognize and assess the warning signs, and how to cope after a devastating loss. This book was a very difficult read for me. I would read a chapter here and there and then put it aside because I simply found it too sad. But, I am glad I read it. I hope that more people will - I hope it will help us to better understand suicide, to dispel the shame our society attaches to it, to encourage people to ask for help when they feel alone, and to help all of us to be better equipped to give the assistance so many people desperately need.
• 
  Sue

  After losing a cousin to suicide this summer, I thought I would try (too late) to understand. I found nothing astonishing in this book, though it is beautifully written. My cousin, at age 54, did not fall within the parameters of this book, which the author states is a study of suicide in the young (defined as under age 45). I wish Ms. Jamison would write another book focusing on suicide among those older than 45, which would include my cousin and, more famously, Robin Williams. Have those who have chosen to die by their own hand at a later age simply managed to hang on longer, finally losing the battle with depression? (I believe this is true of my cousin, and likely, Robin Williams as well.) Or does age materially change the situation by altering perspective? Having watched more than one person I love fade away by inches in extreme old age, I think suicide after, say, age 80, could be a totally different thing, more an act of closure rather than despair. Dr. Jamison, I believe I have just suggested the subject of your next book.