Constriction
Definition
Shneidman's term for the psychological narrowing of options visible in suicidal communication: the world reduced to two possibilities (continue or stop), dichotomous thinking, and a collapsed time horizon. This psychological state has linguistic correlates that analysts use as markers.
Related terms
- Comparison corpus (deceased subject)
- Writing samples attributed to the deceased: letters, texts, diary entries, social media posts. The challenge is that genuine notes are written in...
- Genuine suicide note
- A note written by the deceased in the period immediately before their death, addressed to known individuals, containing features consistent with Shneidman...
- Leave-taking formula
- A linguistic convention for ending a relationship or presence, typically a farewell, often accompanied by emotional acknowledgement. Leave-taking structures appear consistently in...
- Simulated suicide note
- A note written by another party (often the perpetrator of a homicide) to create the appearance of suicide. Also called a fabricated...
- Suicidological linguistics
- The application of linguistic methods to understanding suicidal communication, including note analysis, social media analysis, and the language of crisis helpline calls....
Explained in
- Suicide Note Analysis and AuthenticityShneidman's term for the psychological narrowing of options visible in suicidal communication: the world reduced to two possibilities (continue or stop), dicho...