Chat Room Ghouls Dupe The Despondent Into Believing That Suicide Is Painless

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Posted on 16th May 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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It’s Dr. Kevorkian channeled through the Internet, and it’s chilling.

The New York Times ran a front page story Friday about a Faribault, Minn., man who is charged with two counts of aiding in a suicide. But the newspaper used the case of practical nurse William Melchert-Dinkel to delve into a new phenomenon: Pro-suicide chat rooms that encourage the despondent and depressed to take their own lives. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/us/14suicide.html?hp

The topic of suicide is of great interest to me as an advocate of those with brain injury, because brain-damaged people often get clinically depressed, and out of that despair they think about committing suicide as a way to end their misery.

What the Web gives us today is the equivalent of a mob standing on a sidewalk watching someone out on a skyscraper ledge, yelling like a chorus for him to jump. With the Internet, you can be 1,000 miles from someone contemplating suicide and still tell them “to jump.” It’s rather convenient,

In the case of Melchert-Dinkel, he is charged with assisting in the suicide of a man, Mark Drybrough, in Coventry, England. Melchert-Dinkin, posing as a young depressed woman under the alias “Li Dao,” offered Drybrough tips on how to hang himself from a door.  

Melchert-Dinkin, this time using the name “Cami,” entered into a suicide pact with a young Canadian woman. The woman killed herself by jumping off a bridge, under the delusion that Cami would commit suicide the next day by hanging herself  per their pact.

 It may also shake your faith in humanity more than a bit, as it did mine, to read about another example cited in The Times. One poor lost soul killed himself in front of a webcam as others, who I would call evil, watched. 

 Ironically, Melchert-Dinkel apparently did feel some remorse over his murderous actions. After he was first questioned by police, the now-suspended nurse went to a local emergency room and claimed he was addicted to suicide Internet sites and “was feeling guilty about the advice he had given people to end their lives,” according to The Times.

Suicide is a major risk factor for brain injured individuals

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Posted on 27th October 2008 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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http://subtlebraininjury.blogspot.com/2008/10/crisis-calls-increase.html

Earlier this week we posted an AP news story about the increase in suicides with the downturn in Wallstreet and the economy. I am old enough to remember my parents’ stories about the suicides on Wallstreet after the 1929 crash, so was certainly not surprised about this development. Suicide prevention is one of the areas of advocacy that does not get enough attention. Suicide is a major risk factor for brain injured individuals, as depression and organic brain injury create a dangerous synergism.

There are surprisingly inadequate suicide resources on the web. I have previously linked some of those, but will endeavor in the coming days to supplement those we have discussed before. However, the most significant thing that can be done to prevent actual suicides is to insure that no one who is potentially despondent, has access to a handgun.

Included is a chart of the statistical analysis of suicide deaths in the US. Many have seen the movie Bowling for Columbine, which is Michael Moore’s treatment of gun control. While I agree with Moore, what Moore doesn’t say in this movie is that two-thirds of the gunshot deaths in the United States are suicides.

Look at the 5th column on the chart below – Case Fatality Rate. The success rate on all suicide attempts (including guns) is only 8.66%; the rate for those who attempt it with a gun – 85%. Even those who jump succeed only 31% of the time. The only other method that has more than a 50% success rate is those who attempt suicide through suffocation.

THE REAL REASON FOR GUN CONTROL? Of the 16,899 who killed themselves with guns, 16,200 would still be alive. I represent depressed people. The impulse to kill themselves is something they get past. But not when the impulse is combined with a gun.




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©Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr. 2008

Suicide Statistics

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Posted on 7th July 2008 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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On my other blog, http://tbilaw.blogspot.com I have been writing about suicide and brain injury. This chart shows important statistics about suicide. Click on the chart to see it in full size.

What resources are available online for someone who is suicidal?

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Posted on 6th July 2008 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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I have devoted most of the last month to blogging about the interplay between emotional issues and brain damage, especially focused on military injuries. See http://tbilaw.blogspot.com Regardless of what the underlying cause of someone’s despair, it is critical that he or she reaches out for help. I asked my research assistant this question: What resources are available online for someone who is suicidal?

Here is what she put together for me:

The internet and 1-800 free hotlines seem to be quick and helpful sources of information for someone who has suicidal thoughts.

Since, there are so many websites, it is impossible to list them all. Here are some good starting points for help.

http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/

This website was written by Martha Ainsworth who based her information and inspiration from David Conroy, Ph. D. David Conroy is the Executive Director of Suicide Prevention Resource and author of a Suicide Prevention book, Out of the Nightmare: Recovery from Depression and Suicidal Pain.

The website features “The Samaritans” (http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/samaritans.htm) who are trained volunteers available 24 hours a day to listen by email or phone. A Samaritan volunteer can be reached by email at: jo@samaritans.org or by phone at: 1-800-365-4044 and additional numbers can be found at: http://www.befrienders.org/, which is an organization affiliated with The Samaritans.

The site also suggests that someone having suicidal thoughts could talk to a therapist online. Therapist online can answer your email questions and provide online counseling. All of the online therapists listed provide online counseling for a fee, however, The Samaritan remains free. The website for this information is: http://www.metanoia.org/imhs/clinics.htm

There is also information about a Depression support group, Walkers in Darkness, who provide support and information for others who our suffering from depression.

The website for this information is: http://www.walkers.org/

Lastly, if you have the time and patience you can also find a therapist who can help you work through your suicidal problems. http://www.find-a-therapist.com/ For information on how to pick the best therapist for you see:

http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/2007/05/14/how-to-choose-a-counselor-or-therapist/

It is important that someone who has suicidal thoughts talk to someone and does not keep the thoughts to themselves. There is plenty of helpful information out there and many people that want to help.