摘要 : As a term of particular usefulness, "suicide" has become generic to the point of meaninglessness. When I am in the general-hospital setting, the truth of this statement is driven home for me when the question I inevitably ask upon... 展开 As a term of particular usefulness, "suicide" has become generic to the point of meaninglessness. When I am in the general-hospital setting, the truth of this statement is driven home for me when the question I inevitably ask upon hearing the term is, "What do you mean by 'suicide'?" In a typical week on the consultation psychiatry service, for example, I may encounter a remorseful teenager who regrets the impulsive overdose she hoped would get her boyfriend's attention; an elderly man who would rather forgo dialysis than carry on as a cardiac cripple unable to engage any longer in the physical activities that bring his life meaning and joy; and a depressed, middle-aged man with severe facial wounds that resulted from a carefully planned gunshot wound to his brain that only failed to kill him because the rifle kicked out of position at the "moment of truth." All three consultations were requested for an evaluation of "suicide," even though they are alike as an apple, orange, and banana. 收起