Doctors And Suicide

During the last tbree years, says The Medical aud Surgical Reporter of Philadelphia, uearly oue-fiftieth of all deaths amoug physici;:is have been by suicide. This is a conservativo estímate, as rnauy instanceaof doiith are attributed to accidental overdoshig, as the tendency is always to hush np a suicide whenever possible. But without including such cases, the fact remains that tbe medical professiou is more prone to suicide thau any othcr. These statistics may be explaiued by the developiaeut of morbid faiicies iu the mind of a doctor ou account of bis constant associatiou with the sick aud dying, or of au actual iudifference to death, or because he bas the requisite knowledge of how to die couveiiientiy aud paiulessly. Poisouing is a favorito method, but it does'riofc appèar froin statistics that the cyauidesor morphiue have the prefereuce whioh would exist if epicurean philosophy were carried i ato the choice of drugs. At the saine time, physicians usually put their knowledge of drugs to a practical executiou in selecting a poison for suicide. But if the mere knowledge of the painlessnesa of death by certaiu means is not a determining factor iu leading so many physicians to suicide, probably the accessibility of poisons is. . Suicide is largely a matter of insane impuTsé, aud st-ch an impulse can ofteu be ascertaiued even iu the case of those ■who have long been iudififerent to life aud have contemplated suicide. If a man must put ou bis hat and overcoat, walk to a drug store aud tax bis ingenuity for a lie with which to explaiu his desire for poison, he may postpoue the fatal act froin mere inertia, or he may meet a frieiidor have his interestin life aroused by oue of a multitude of everyday occurrences or physical exercise may briug bim to bis senses. If, as is the case with almost every doctor, he has simply to feel iu bis pocket or walk across his office to get a deadly poisou, tbe impulse may be carried into execution before auythiug eau happen to supplant it iu the brain.