The False Equivalency of Numbers
If suicidal ideation were a temperature, there would be a number that marked the danger line. It could have some grey zone on either side, but everyone knows that a temperature of 100 you are sick. At 99 you may be fighting something but you're probably fine. At 104 you are probably headed to your doctor or urgent care. It's clear. There are lines. There are treatments. There are expectations for when schools should send kids home. It makes sense. Therapy for suicidal ideation can offer numbers, but they are so much fuzzier. Are you a 2 today or a 3? How do you tell? There's no equipment that can measure it. There's no impartial arbiter that can smack a metaphorical hand to your forehead to tell if you're "warm". And besides, how much difference is there really between a 2 and a 3, or 2 and a 4 for that matter? In my family, we tend to describe a 0 as everything is fine and dandy while at 5 the world i...