Ebook Suicidal Why We Kill Ourselves Jesse Bering Joe Hempel 9781515947363 Books
Download As PDF : Suicidal Why We Kill Ourselves Jesse Bering Joe Hempel 9781515947363 Books
For much of his thirties, Jesse Bering thought he was probably going to kill himself. He was a successful psychologist and writer, with books to his name and bylines in major magazines. But none of that mattered. The impulse to take his own life remained. At times it felt all but inescapable.
Bering survived. And in addition to relief, the fading of his suicidal thoughts brought curiosity. Where had they come from? Would they return? Is the suicidal impulse found in other animals? Or is our vulnerability to suicide a uniquely human evolutionary development? In Suicidal, Bering answers all these questions and more, taking us through the science and psychology of suicide, revealing its cognitive secrets and the subtle tricks our minds play on us when we're easy emotional prey. Scientific studies, personal stories, and remarkable cross-species comparisons come together to help listeners critically analyze their own doomsday thoughts while gaining broad insight into a problem that, tragically, will most likely touch all of us at some point in our lives.
Authoritative, accessible, personal, profound-there's never been a book on suicide like this. It will help you understand yourself and your loved ones, and it will change the way you think about this most vexing of human problems.
Ebook Suicidal Why We Kill Ourselves Jesse Bering Joe Hempel 9781515947363 Books
"I have a personal reason for reading this book - we lost our son to suicide totally unexpectedly, without warnings, 16 months ago. The loss has devasted us and turned our own existence into a painful struggle. We had no idea that our son was suffering, let alone that he was suicidal. The appearance he presented was totally misleading. He was a young, highly functioning professional with a lot of friends. He was good looking, athletic and talented. He always appeared to be in control. His suicide was a shock to all. How could we all be so wrong?
Jesse Bering’s book confirmed so many things that I have come up with during my own 16 months “psychological autopsy†and “trying to get into my son’s headâ€. There were certain traits that contributed to my son’s death. As Jesse lists some of them: perfectionism-check, sensitivity-check, very high standards for himself and blaming himself - check. Propensity for depression, combined with numerous situational stressors that created a perfect storm -check. Having a gun as Jesse points out, and I agree, was a recipe for disaster.
I found chapter 4 on Roy Baumeister’s stages in which the individual moves from one degree of suicidality on to the next immensely valuable, particularly from the perspective that it is here where the deadly cycle can be broken. I actually reread this part and will be rereading many parts of the book.
Another well-illustrated point is what Edwin Shneidman calls “psychacheâ€. The case of Vic, a young girl who took her own life is particularly painful to read. Her writings are so beautiful and haunting.
As Jesse points out, this is not a suicide prevention book. His hope is that it might help people better understand the problem and maybe recognize some of the signs and deal with them.
After reading the book, I feel solidarity with the author, Jesse Bering. His sincerity and sharing of his personal struggles make me feel that we are in the same boat. In his outstanding book, Heavens on Earth, Michael Shermer writes about a staggering level of complexity produced by 85 billion of neurons in a human brain, each with about a thousand synaptic links, for a total of 100 trillion connections. I can’t help but think that somehow those 85 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections also account for the commonalties that we share as human beings. Though each suicide seems to be different, the commonalities are extremely important clues for dealing and hopefully understanding and solving the problem.
Did Jesse’s book provide answers to all the questions? No, and Jesse himself acknowledges that. But he certainly went along this long, dark, seemingly endless hall with seemingly endless doors and he unlocked many of them one by one. And I hope that he doesn't stop here.. Luckily, Jesse is not alone on this hall. There are others doing the same.
I found Jesse’s book so valuable that I will give a copy to people I know who are interested in understanding the subject better."
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Tags : Buy Suicidal Why We Kill Ourselves on ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders,Jesse Bering, Joe Hempel,Suicidal Why We Kill Ourselves,Tantor Audio,151594736X,AUDIO,General Adult,Non-Fiction,PSYCHOLOGY / General,PSYCHOLOGY / Psychopathology / General,PSYCHOLOGY / Suicide,Psychology,Psychology/Psychopathology - General,SCIENCE / Cognitive Science,SCIENCE / General,Science/Cognitive Science,United States,suicidal ideation; suicidal thoughts; author of The Belief Instinct
Suicidal Why We Kill Ourselves Jesse Bering Joe Hempel 9781515947363 Books Reviews :
Suicidal Why We Kill Ourselves Jesse Bering Joe Hempel 9781515947363 Books Reviews
- I have a personal reason for reading this book - we lost our son to suicide totally unexpectedly, without warnings, 16 months ago. The loss has devasted us and turned our own existence into a painful struggle. We had no idea that our son was suffering, let alone that he was suicidal. The appearance he presented was totally misleading. He was a young, highly functioning professional with a lot of friends. He was good looking, athletic and talented. He always appeared to be in control. His suicide was a shock to all. How could we all be so wrong?
Jesse Bering’s book confirmed so many things that I have come up with during my own 16 months “psychological autopsy†and “trying to get into my son’s headâ€. There were certain traits that contributed to my son’s death. As Jesse lists some of them perfectionism-check, sensitivity-check, very high standards for himself and blaming himself - check. Propensity for depression, combined with numerous situational stressors that created a perfect storm -check. Having a gun as Jesse points out, and I agree, was a recipe for disaster.
I found chapter 4 on Roy Baumeister’s stages in which the individual moves from one degree of suicidality on to the next immensely valuable, particularly from the perspective that it is here where the deadly cycle can be broken. I actually reread this part and will be rereading many parts of the book.
Another well-illustrated point is what Edwin Shneidman calls “psychacheâ€. The case of Vic, a young girl who took her own life is particularly painful to read. Her writings are so beautiful and haunting.
As Jesse points out, this is not a suicide prevention book. His hope is that it might help people better understand the problem and maybe recognize some of the signs and deal with them.
After reading the book, I feel solidarity with the author, Jesse Bering. His sincerity and sharing of his personal struggles make me feel that we are in the same boat. In his outstanding book, Heavens on Earth, Michael Shermer writes about a staggering level of complexity produced by 85 billion of neurons in a human brain, each with about a thousand synaptic links, for a total of 100 trillion connections. I can’t help but think that somehow those 85 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections also account for the commonalties that we share as human beings. Though each suicide seems to be different, the commonalities are extremely important clues for dealing and hopefully understanding and solving the problem.
Did Jesse’s book provide answers to all the questions? No, and Jesse himself acknowledges that. But he certainly went along this long, dark, seemingly endless hall with seemingly endless doors and he unlocked many of them one by one. And I hope that he doesn't stop here.. Luckily, Jesse is not alone on this hall. There are others doing the same.
I found Jesse’s book so valuable that I will give a copy to people I know who are interested in understanding the subject better. - Bering is one of my favorite authors and he doesn't disappoint with "Suicidal." As he makes clear from the beginning, this book is his attempt to make sense of suicide and hopefully provide others with a guide to help prevent future suicides. It is his hope that the information he provides can be a roadblock to those having suicidal thoughts as well as helpful to those interested in suicide and suicide prevention.
Bering accepts Roy Baumeister's model of the steps leading up to suicide and dedicates a whole chapter to a case study. Although some might say that the book isn't exhaustive enough, I'd agree but I don't believe Bering's aim was an exhaustive, academic tome on suicide. Suicide, Bering makes clear, is a complicated topic but the more we know about it, the better we are at identifying those that are suicidal.
Witty, engaging, and informative, "Suicidal" is for all those concerned about suicide. - A deep dive into a taboo topic with a good mix of personal reflections from the author and reviews of relevant prior research. Jesse Bering's approach to the topic is balanced and respectful, always engaging, and sometimes somehow humorous. I'm grateful for the perspective he offers which has genuinely changed the way I look at suicidal ideation.
- I have spent the last 17 months reading everything I can find to help me rationalize & somehow try to understand the most painful & complicated event that made my world stop....why did my son Skyler, at the age of 23, take his life and no one saw it coming?
This book has helped me see this tragedy through another set of eyes, it helped me to indicate more pieces of this puzzle that will never have all the pieces bundled nicely in a sealed tight bag. Thank you. - A good read on a hard subject. I learned a ton and enjoyed reading it. It handled the difficult subject masterfully with humor and brilliant writing
- I have had a very hard time writing a review. Not because of the subject matter, but I couldn't seem to sum up the book very well in a sentence or two.
Then I realized it's because the book is one of the very few that does justice to the topic of suicide. It can't be summed up in a soundbite it's nuanced and intricate and crosses so many social, regional, and cultural lines. "It's complicated", as the relationship status says.
Jesse shares his own personal struggles and examines suicide from various compassionate angles. While he certainly has the intellectual chops to dive deep into the psychology behind it, you never get the feeling that some dispassionate observer is relaying his views from arm's length.
If you are a member of the human race, read this book.
Thanks NetGally for the ARC! - As an academic librarian with some familiarity with current scholarship on suicide (through both my research assistance and my recreational interest), I unreservedly and enthusiastically recommend this superbly written, scientifically informed, and richly insightful book accessible to a wide and varied readership. Whether you are fortunate enough to have only a casual or more distantly philosophical interest in the topic, or have been personally touched or harrowed by suicide in the various ways sensitively and masterfully illuminated by Bering, there is something of lasting value for nearly any possible reader. Bering's unique combination of (1) professional background in cognitive and evolutionary psychology, in which he has made substantial contributions, and in award-winning popular scientific writing, (2) longstanding personal experience contending with suicidal ideation, and (3) exquisitely fluent and dexterous writing skill -- this singular synthesis confers upon SUICIDAL an authority and pathos scarcely matched by any other book in recent years on this darkly enigmatic and perhaps uniquely human phenomenon which, according the the World Health Organization, on average claims a life every 40 seconds.
