| S |
|
| SAD |
Seasonal affective disorder; depression associated with shorter days/earlier darkness of winter. |
| Samaritans, The |
International volunteer suicide crisis intervention group. |
| SAM E |
S-adenoslymethionine; natural bodily substance under study as a treatment for depression. |
| SAMSHA |
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - government agency. |
| S.A./V.E. |
Suicide awareness/voices of education; MN (U.S.) based nonprofit organization. |
| Screening |
Clinical procedure for identifying and assessing suicide risk. |
| Seasonality |
Refers to seasonal variations in suicide rates. |
| Seclusion |
Separation of an inpatient/inmate in crisis from general institutional population. |
| Secondary depression |
See disease-related depression and reactive depression. |
| Secondary loss |
Consequence of loss of loved one, e.g., a friendship. |
| Secondary prevention |
Attempt to lessen the severity of a problem. |
| Secondary victimization |
Negative experience of bereaved with relatives, media, police, etc. |
| Secret grief |
See hidden grief. |
| SED |
Seriously emotionally disturbed; usually used in reference to children and adolescents. |
| Selective intervention |
Preventative measures directed at group showing risk factors. |
Selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitor (SSRI) |
Class of antidepressants (e.g., Paxil). |
| Self-deliverance |
"Rational" suicide for a "good" reason. |
| Self-destructive behavior |
Activities with high physical risk. |
| Self-determination |
View of absolute individual control of personal choice or destiny. |
| Self-injurious behavior (SIB) |
Causing obvious tissue damage without lethal intent. |
| Self-medicate |
Use alcohol, drugs, other substances to cope with depression, grief, or pain. |
| Self-mutilation |
Slashing, stabbing, cutting, burning, etc. on the body by an individual. |
| Seppuku |
Ritualistic suicide to preserve personal honor in japan. |
| Sequelae |
Condition resulting from a disease or disorder. |
| Serotonin |
Neurotransmitter that inhibits self-destructive behavior. |
| Serotonin-specific agent |
New class of antidepressant drugs. |
| Shadow grief |
Unresolved "background" grief associated with perinatal loss. |
| Shneidman, edwin |
Author/editor of several seminal texts on suicide. |
| Silent suicide |
Self-starvation and medical noncompliance by the aged. |
| Situational clues |
Loss, other major life event linked with suicide risk. |
| Slippery slope |
Potential adverse outcome of a moral or legal change. |
| Slow suicide |
Prolonged pattern of self-abusive, harmful behavior. |
| Social death |
Avoidance of a terminally ill or dying individual by friends/relatives. |
| Socio-economic determinants |
Factors such as income or unemployment that may correlate with suicide rates in some groups. |
| Sociological theory |
Suicide is influenced by culture and social structure. |
S.O.L.O.S. (Survivors of
Loved Ones' Suicides) |
AKA suicide survivors. |
| S.O.L.O.S., Inc. |
VA based nonprofit organization dedicated to meeting needs of suiide grievers. |
| Somatic |
Refers to the body; non-mental; e.g., somatic health. |
| SOS |
Survivors of suicide, inc.; sponsor support groups for suicide grievers. |
| S.P.A.N. |
Suicide prevention advocacy network; ga based nonprofit organization. |
| Spirituality |
Personal search for meaning after a loss. |
| Spiritual abuse |
Allegation by a clergyperson that suicide victim is damned. |
| Stages of grief |
Concept of distinct phases of grieving (Kubler-Ross). |
| Stimulus event |
In a suicide cluster the act or event felt to have motivated the subsequent deaths. |
| Stressor |
A factor precipitating or driving a behavior or outcome. |
| Subintentional |
Individual indirectly/unconsciously causes her/his own death. |
| Substance abuse |
Misuse of alcohol, legal/illegal drugs, prescribed/otc medications, cigarettes, etc. |
| Substance P |
Neurochemical linked as a neurotransmitter to depression and psychological pain. |
| Suffering |
State of extreme anguish and discomfort caused by pain or loss. |
| Suicidal |
In acute crisis with ideation, a plan, definite tendencies, or an attempt. |
| Suicidal behavior |
Suicide gestures, attempts, and completions. |
| Suicidal equivalent |
Dangerous, risk-taking behavior that may be life-threatening (Ayd). |
| Suicidal fantasy |
Recurring suicidal ideation involving the same or similar situation. |
| Suicidal ideation |
Thoughts about completing suicide. |
| Suicidal individual |
One manifesting suicidal behavior or suicidal intent. |
| Suicidal intent |
Level of individual degree of risk of acting at a particular time. |
| Suicidal migrations |
Relocation of at-risk individuals seeking gratification (Farber). |
| Suicidal potential |
Recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan (Ayd). |
| Suicide act |
Any fatal/non-fatal intentional self-inflicted injury (O'Carroll et al.). |
| Suicide liability |
Risk was seen, assessed, documented, and negligently treated. |
| Suicidal threat |
Verbal statement(s) indicating that suicide is being considered. |
| Suicidality |
Individual's level of danger to her/himself (Shneidman). |
| Suicide |
A transient disease caused by psychological stress and pain. |
| Suicided |
Verb: to complete suicide (e.g., "my son suicided"). |
| Suicide attempt |
Failed attempt to complete suicide. |
| Suicide-by-cop |
Provoking a police officer to shoot in self-defense. |
| Suicide career |
Individual pattern of multiple suicide attempts. |
| Suicide clause |
Life insurance payout limited to premiums if insured dies by suicide within 2 years of buying policy. |
| Suicide cluster |
See suicide contagion. |
| Suicide completer |
Individual who has died of suicide. |
| Suicide completion |
Individual death as outcome of the suicide process. |
| Suicide contagion |
Series of consecutive suicides in the same geographic area. |
| Suicide cult |
Sect in which possibility of suicide is explicit/implicit condition of membership. |
| Suicide gesture |
An action of self-harm indicating suicidal intent. |
| Suicide griever |
Individual experiencing traumatic effects of suicide loss. |
| Suicide incidence |
Number of cases in a given time in a given area. |
| Suicide intervention |
Prevention of an imminent attempt or an in process attempt. |
| Suicide landmarks |
Sites (e.g., bridges) that have become historically associated with suicide completion. |
| Suicide means |
See means. |
| Suicide pact |
Agreement to complete suicide by two or more individuals. |
| Suicide plan |
Individual strategy inclusive of time frame and means to complete suicide. |
| Suicide prevalence |
Cases at a given time relative to population size. |
| Suicide process |
Course of physiological and psychosocial developments leading to suicide. |
| Suicide proofing |
Effort by a hospital, prison, or other institution to prevent suicide by those in care. |
| Suicide rate |
Occurrence of suicide in a given population or community. |
| Suicide survivor |
See suicide griever. |
| Suicide syndrome |
Long-term self-destructive life process (Gernsbacher). |
| Suicide talk |
Verbal references to suicidal behavior by an at-risk individual. |
| Suicide typology |
Classification of different suicide types. |
| Suicide watch |
Inpatient or in-home monitoring of a suicidal individual. |
| Suicide zone |
Transient individual period of risk (Litman). |
| Suicidogenic |
Causing, giving rise to suicide or suicidal behavior. |
| Suicidology |
The formal scientific study of suicide; multidisciplinary. |
| Suicidologist |
Specialist in the study of suicide. |
| Suidecide |
(Sui-decide) rational suicide by a terminally ill individual (Schmerl). |
| Suisad |
(Sui-sad) "killing the sadness"; replacement for term suicide (Cantor). |
| Support group |
Peer resource for dealing with illness or trauma. |
| Surcease suicide |
Completion to end or avoid a severe stressor (Prado). |
| Surviving |
Living beyond the experience of a suicide or traumatic loss. |
| Survivor |
Individual affected by a traumatic loss (e.g., suicide griever). |
| Survivor guilt |
Self-blame for enduring after loss of loved one. |
| Survivors of Suicide (SOS) |
Support group for suicide survivors. |
| Survivorship |
See surviving. |
| Sutee |
Ritualistic suicide by self-immolation by a widow in India. |
| Symbolic loss |
Loss of something intangible (e.g., relationship). |
| Symptom |
Clinical sign of a disease or disorder. |
| Syndromatic clues |
behavioral, verbal, situational indicators of suicide risk. |
| Syndrome |
Group of symptoms indicating a particular condition. |
