Touched by Suicide

<p><strong><em>Touched by Suicide</em> by Christi Taylor-Jones delves into the very personal yet archetypal reasons why people choose to end their life or think about doing so. Although depression and mental illness are often cited as motivating factors Taylor-Jones contends that anger shame and self-hatred are greater contributors. Anxiety and impulsivity are also implicated. Underlying the suicidal urge however is a deep and often unconscious longing to end suffering through transformation and rebirth. Lacking the ability to undergo that process symbolically leaves no choice but to enact it literally. </strong></p><p></p><p>Taylor-Jones emphasizes the importance of the symbolic element and points out that suffering is part of life and to live life fully requires making meaning out of the pain we do suffer. She explores the views of suicide throughout time from the Greeks to Christianity and later psychology. She describes the role depression mental illness shame and trauma play in suicidal thinking as well as heroic and selfless motivations behind some suicides.The book also distinguishes between conscious and unconscious suicide. </p><p></p><p>Her book based on her own personal and professional experiences as well as the basic tenents of C.G. Jung regarding the Self the individuation process and the soul offers insight and hope to those who consider or who have attempted suicide as well as those who seek an in-depth approach to the subject. Taylor-Jones claims that we need to transform the shame and judgment that often accompanies suicidal feelings and replace them with empathic understanding of suicide's ultimate goal.</p><p> </p><p>Christi Taylor-Jones MA LMFT is a certified Jungian Analyst and writer who is a frequent contributor to the journal <em>Psychological Perspectives</em> and other publications over the last thirty years. Her first book was <em>Midlife Parenting; A Guide to Having and Raising Kids in your 30s 40s and Beyond</em>. She has also written and presented extensively on the issue of shame depression and suicide.</p><p></p><p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p><p>Preface </p><p>Acknowledgments </p><p>Introduction </p><p>1. Suicide Up Close and Personal </p><p>2. The Who How and Why of Suicide: An Overview </p><p>3. Historical Attitudes Toward Suicide </p><p>4. Suicide and the Soul </p><p>5. Jung and Suicide </p><p>6. Modern Views of Suicide </p><p>7. Suicide and Shame </p><p>8. Suicide and Depression </p><p>9. Suicide and Trauma </p><p>10. Transformation: An Unconscious Human Longing </p><p>11. A Clinical Perspective: Two Cases of Suicide </p><p>12. Summary and Reflections </p><p>Appendix 1: The Case of Suicide in Seattle </p><p>Appendix 2: Statistical Overview of Suicide Rates Worldwide and in the United States </p><p>Appendix 3: Neurobiological and Genetic Factors in Suicide </p><p>Notes </p><p>Bibliography </p><p>Index </p><p>About the Author</p>