Childhood trauma has been associated with an increased risk of deteriorated mental health, including suicidal ideation, suicide completion, physical diseases, and psychological diseases (Rieger et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2022). Childhood trauma can affect resilience by shutting down the thinking and learning brain, losing hope for the future, shutting down regulation or self-control, loss of efficacy, challenges in the attachment system, delayed or lost developmental skill mastery, challenges to social connectedness (Forkey et al., 2021). When resilience is affected, suicidal ideation can increase (Kumar et al., 2021).
In a cross-sectional design study performed on 8,452 college students in China, it was found that childhood trauma was “positively correlated with suicidal ideation, indifference, loneliness, and negatively correlated with identification with all humanity” (Wang et al., 2022, p.662). It was also found that psychological trauma had a greater likelihood of resulting in suicidal thoughts than physical trauma (Wang et al., 2022). Important to note was that the definition of psychological trauma presented by the Wang et al. (2022, p.663) included a “series of inappropriate behaviors, such as intimidation, neglect, interference, derogation, and connivance, which are continuously and repeatedly occur from people who are closely related to the child and have responsibilities and obligations to the child.”
Depression has been found to be one of the strongest risk factors for suicidal ideation (Rieger et al., 2015), and according to Ellers, a compromised social support network is also one of the biggest risk factors for suicide (American Association of Christian Counselors [AACC], 2017). Specifically, reciprocity in social support – the extent to which someone accepts and provides support to those surrounding them – is linked to greater mental health, in addition to protective psychological factors such as ability to adapt and cope and altruistic behaviors (Kumar et al., 2021).
For those suffering with serious suicidal ideation, it has been found that a single dose of ketamine, an antidepressant, may have effects within an hour of administration (Chittaranjan, 2018). Chu (2011, p.136) states that one of the principles of suicide management includes the acceptance that the possibility of suicide is a real crisis situation, and therefore “any and all interventions can and should be used.” Since the use of this drug has been shown to be effective through randomized controlled trials, case reports, and uncontrolled trials (Chittaranjan, 2018), it is worth considering as a way to help those with serious suicidal ideations.
In assessing reasons for living amongst a sample of 1,245 Canadian college students with a mean age of 20-years-old, religiosity, as measured by belief expressed in private faith, was found to serve as a protective factor for students with high levels of suicidal behavior (Reiger et al., 2015). It seems as if having a strong faith did not prevent suicidal thoughts but did protect against suicide completions (Reiger et al., 2015). For students who did not have suicidal ideation, or only experienced it briefly, childhood trauma was a significant inverse predictor for reasons for living; this was not the case for those who experienced serious ideation or a suicide attempt (Reiger et al., 2015). The authors hypothesize that those with childhood trauma may have possibly received treatment or have found another way to maintain their mental health and therefore not experience suicidal tendencies as those that are missing the protective factors (Reiger et al., 2015).
In considering the concept that a social network is an effective protective factor against suicidal ideation, it is important to consider the work we all do as individual sons and daughters of The Most High. Our willingness to come alongside those around us and portray the love of our Messiah to the hurting can make the difference between life and death for someone, without us even knowing it.
References
American Association of Christian Counselors. (2017). TRMA 810 DVD Set. AACC.
Chittaranjan, A. (2018). Ketamine for depression, 6: Effects on suicidal ideation and possible use
as crisis intervention in patients at suicide risk. Clinical and Practical Psychopharmacology, 79(2). https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.18f12242
Chu, J.A. (2011). Rebuilding chattered lives: Treating complex PTSD and dissociative disorders
(2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Forkey, H.C., Griffin, J. L., & Szilagyi, M. (2021). Childhood trauma and resilience: A practical
guide. American Academy of Pediatrics.
Kumar, S.A., Hein, C.L., DiLillo, D., & Pietrzak, R.H. (2021). Resilience to suicidal ideation
among U.S. military veterans with posttraumatic stress: Results from the national health and resilience in veterans study. Military Behavioral Health. DOI: 10.1080/21635781.2021.2015019
Rieger, S.J., Peter, T., & Roberts, L.W. (2015). ‘Give me a reason to live!’ Examining reasons
for living across levels of suicidality. Journal of Religious Health, 54, 2005-2019. DOI: 10.1007/s10943-014-9893-4
Wang, Y., Warmenhoven, H., Feng, Y., Wilson, A., Guo, D., & Chen, R. (2022). The
relationship between childhood trauma and suicidal ideation, the mediating role of identification of all humanity, indifference and loneliness. Journal of Affective Disorders, 299, 658-665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.052
Discerning Trauma 