Q; What is the difference between suicidal ideation, suicide threat, and suicide gesture?
Answer: Patients with any slightest clue of suicide are usually admitted to ICU for 24/7 monitoring till cleared by psychiatry service or transferred to the appropriate facility. Few terminologies are important to know as they may make a difference in clinical management.
Suicidal ideation is the most worrisome phenomenon as a patient may not only have thoughts about killing himself but may have developed a plan to execute it. In contrast, patients with a suicide threat just intend others to believe that they want to die without any intention to die. Suicide gesture is a more organized form of threat where self-injurious behavior is displayed for others to believe that they want to die without any intention to die.
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References:
1. Nock MK. Self-injury. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 2010; 6:339.
2. McCullumsmith C. Laying the groundwork for standardized assessment of suicidal behavior. J Clin Psychiatry 2015; 76:e1333.
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