Psychache Psychology of psychological pain and anguish

"Psychache refers to the hurt, anguish, soreness, aching, psychological pain in the psyche, the mind." This definition appeared in the first paragraph of a 1993 article by Edwin S. Shneidman. The term continues to appear in the psychological literature.

Shneidman used the term in relation to suicide in the same paragraph as the definition: "Suicide is caused by psychache." (italics in the original)

Clinicians and scientists can "miss the mark" if they ignore this internal distress when trying to explain suicide by such variables as age, sex, and socioeconomic level.

Schneidman, E. S. (1993). Commentary: Suicide as psychache. The Journal of Mental Disease, 181, (3), 145-147. 

Link: https://journals.lww.com/jonmd/Citation/1993/03000/Commentary__Suicide_as_Psychache.1.aspx

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

1-800-273-8255

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