Abstract

In this chapter, the medical, sociological and medicalization models are drawn together. Stressors (predicaments) have an impact on vulnerable individuals. Vulnerability takes two forms, one from the sociological perspective (due to the regulations and support provided by society) and the other from the medical perspective (due to nature and nurture factors). These vulnerabilities reinforce each other and lead to the central element of distress. Three aspects that may be considered here are; i) distress can be called a mental disorder (medicalized) and if suicide results, the death is incorrectly attributed to medical disorder. ii) distress can lead to mental disorder and if suicide results, the death is correctly attributed to mental disorder, and iii) distress can lead directly to suicide, and mental disorder is not involved or mistakenly thought to be involved. In this latter pathway, when distress is clear to others, the suicide is akin to rational suicide. When distress is less clear to others, the suicide is akin to egoistic/anomic suicide.