On July 15th, 1974, 30-year-old television anchor Christine Chubbuck announced on live television that the channel she worked for would be presenting a television first: live coverage of an attempted suicide.
Christine then pulled out a .38 caliber revolver and shot herself in the head. It would take 14 hours until she was finally pronounced dead.
How does witnessing a tragic, public death impact the human psyche?
Why do some people choose to die in public?
Researcher Thomas Joiner states that suicide involves three components:
- Thwarted belongingness: feeling isolated, like you don’t fit in with others or lack a group of common-minded peers.
- Belief that you are a burden on your loved ones or society as a whole.
- The ability to overcome an inherent fear of death. This may come in part from a sort of desensitization caused by repeated self-harm behavior.
What might this tell us about those who choose to die by suicide with an audience?
Is it possible that the audience that witnesses a death by suicide has become the long sought-after peer group that the individual has for so long been lacking? Does the possibility of connecting in that one moment with other people — even if it is a connection based on tragedy — overwhelm the likelihood of emotionally harming those who witness death?
For obvious reasons, it is impossible to determine why those who publicly die by suicide choose this path, although we do know that how someone takes their own life is important.
Joiner believes that those who take their own life are often ambivalent and perhaps choosing a public setting contains a glimmer of hope that someone will prevent them from carrying out their plan to take their own life.
Training the public on how to recognize impending attempts as well as the best ways to intervene has shown a reduction in suicide rates.
It is nearly impossible to know whether a public suicide attempt is a cry for help by someone who feels dismissed from society and is looking for any connection to make them feel as if they belong or if a public suicide attempt is an individual’s final attempt to feel seen.
Each of these possibilities suggests a very different desired outcome.
How does witnessing death affect bystanders?
Not surprisingly, those who witness death are likely to experience psychological trauma in the form of PTSD symptoms such as nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, and an increase in anxiety.
You never know what you might accidentally see next.
Source: Faisal Raman / Pexels
Many bystanders also felt guilty about not having done more to help.
Often, knowledge of an impending death offers more preparation to bystanders. Being able to intellectually anticipate death as a result of a long illness appears to provide some protection against trauma.
However, the suddenness of death by suicide offers an entirely different onslaught in the unexpected surprise of what takes place.
For reasons possibly related to an underlying subconscious belief that knowledge equals control, unexpected tragedies are often viewed as having been more preventable.
Unexpected tragedies also appear to improve an individual’s sensory perception and ability to recall details of the event, possibly as a partial result of heightened adrenaline as the body enters fight or flight mode.
Does one suicide lead to many more?
For many years researchers have studied the idea that suicide is “contagious” amongst individuals in like-minded communities. Think of it as a spark that ignites a fire and then continues to impact other like-minded individuals in similar communities.
Suicide contagion is often found in those who directly witness a successful suicide.
But media coverage can also promote contagion.
The Werther Effect is a term used to describe how highly public or highly publicized instances can lead to an increase in similar suicides. Avoiding glamorizing death by suicide has been helpful in decreasing the spread of suicide contagion.
Interestingly, there is a way to decrease the contamination of others by public suicides: The Papageno Effect.
The Papageno Effect refers to the phenomenon when the media sheds light on stories where individuals overcame mental health issues such as Depression and thoughts of suicide, this uplifting story can plant a seed of hope in those who are suffering.
Put simply: rather than highlight the option of taking one’s own life in a time of despair, the idea of being able to overcome and live a life of goodness is focused on.
How can I help?
If you find yourself in a situation where someone is publicly attempting (or threatening to attempt) suicide the first thing you should do is call 911.
A small study by Owens, Derges & Abraham interviewed 12 people who had attempted to die by suicide in a public place and 21 people who intervened in an attempted suicide in a public place.
Successful interventions most often involved connecting with the individual who was attempting to take their own life, moving the person to a safer location, and summoning help.
Helpers tended to be average people with no special skills or training. They were simply aware of the people in their surroundings, and willing to step in to help.
And sometimes, that can make all the difference.
If you or someone you love is contemplating suicide, seek help immediately. For help 24/7 dial 988 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. To find a therapist near you, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.
