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Public health, as previously defined and examined in this column, has always dealt with issues concerning the FDA, the CDC and other agencies that are supposedly in existence to protect the health of the populace. Occasionally, however, an event occurs that reflects what public health might mean from a societal point of view. Sociology, Psychology and Medical Science at times do run into each other and it can be an abrupt collision.
A woman in downtown Seattle had been going through her own private hell, fighting her own private demons and finally it became too much for her too bear. She decided, in some unknown place in the city, taking some unknown period of time to reach her agonizing decision. She decided to end her own life. Her method? Flinging herself off a high bridge in the downtown 1-5 corridor during morning rush hour. Emergency units and police were called as is standard practice with someone threatening to jump off a bridge. And this was a very high bridge. I am from Seattle. And I know this bridge. She wasn't kidding. This wasn't an attention getter. She meant business. Nevertheless the officials were able to talk to her... unfortunately many commuters were able to talk to her as well. The police and paramedics, while trying their best to talk this woman down off the edge of the bridge, talked later about the voices the woman was hearing. Not ones in her head. Real voices screaming in unison to get her to jump. "Jump bitch, jump." She heard that quite clearly. And with others yelling for her to get it over with, she made up her mind. After all, these commuters all had to get to work. Deindividuation is the psychological term for this phenomenon. It works under the theory that we lose our individual ethical and moral system when we are part of a crowd. We no longer are who we are at home, at the office but are part of a larger picture; one without the common humanity that we expect from our fellow man or woman. Psychologists say that this can even lead to a physical arousal as the deindividualized individuals become excited and emotional over what is taking place. "Physiologically, the presence of other people, heat and any unpleasant event -- i.e., the frustration of being delayed three hours during a rush-hour commute -- can increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior," said Professor Brad Bushman, with the Psychology Department at Iowa State University. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article A Measure of the Public's Health in Public Health Issues is owned by . Permission to republish A Measure of the Public's Health in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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