Compelled to Comment: Part 2 - Suicide and the 'Black Box' (what we know and don't know)

       A flight recorder is an electronic device placed strategically in an aircraft for the primary purpose of  analyzing aircraft accidents and incidents. These devices are frequently referred to as 'black boxes' (a misnomer given that they are actually bright orange to assist in their recovery). They have been a mandatory requirement in commercial aircraft in the United States since 1967, and have been finding their way into ground transportation more recently. A cynic will suggest that this technology enables lawyers to either sue or collect on behalf of their respective parties in the case of an air disaster. Ultimately, though, it is so we can better analyze, understand, and prevent future calamities.

       So what do we have, if anything, that approximates a 'black box', in our similarly desperate attempts to predict, understand, and prevent people from taking their own lives (or that of others or, in the rare instance, when these extremes of behavior occur in tandem)? To be intellectually honest, while we have been studying this critical area of human behavior for centuries now and we have arrived at a place where we have some evidence enabling us to assemble such a device, it is only modestly useful as of this date; a foolproof device continues to elude us. 

       "We should have known": Even some seasoned mental health professionals will imply, if not explicitly state, that such extreme behavior (i.e., in both the case of suicide and homicide) was predictable (hindsight being 20/20). Other more cautious prognosticators, on the other hand, will assert we are misrepresenting our field when we tell the public we can predict aberrant human behavior with confidence, that we are not serving those affected by such behavior when doing so. This is especially the case after a calamity such as suicide. Even in the case where someone has left a suicide note, for example, loved ones will often reject or at least question its 'authenticity', as it was probably written when the person was "not in their right mind" (for similar reasons, personal Wills are sometimes contested, especially when altered from the original following a change in life, such as divorce and/or remarriage).

       The search for a black box in the case of suicide is definitely not futile. And, as the Suicide Prevention Lifeline (9-3-20) reminds us, "We can all help to prevent suicide". Next: Part 3- Towards Better Understanding and Prevention: 'Leaps of Faith'.