Emotional dysregulation and suicide risk: If you’ll leave me, i’ll kill myself!

Abstract

In this chapter the role of emotional regulatory processes in suicidality is highlighted, not only considering relationship difficulties or breakup as trigger of a sense of helplessness in vulnerable people but also considering the chance that people can use adult relationship context as a regulatory place. In particular, adult relationships are discussed as a possible trigger of risk or resilience to partners’ ability to manage negative emotions that may occur through the life span. Recently, literature suggests that people involved in romantic relationships experience lower suicide rates than single, never-married people and that divorced, separated, and widowed persons have the highest rates. Attachment theory and recent studies on emotion regulation provided a new framework for looking at adult relationships.