Anomic Suicide and Sudden Instability—As previously mentioned , Emil Durkheim revolutionized the study of suicide via his systematic and empirical approach to the social factors that influence the aforementioned inscrutable and idiosyncratic nature of individual suicides.
Durkheim’s fundamental proposition posed that the more socially integrated we are (via establishing and maintaining enduring and focused bonds), and the more cohesive we are (allowing others “into our heads” just as others allow us “into their heads”)—the less likely we will commit suicide.
From Durkheim’s perspective, anomic suicide applies to those who feel as if they are merely surviving in a world that has suddenly become foreign and alien. The world has changed drastically and has overwhelmed a person.
Importantly, the change can be regarded, generally, as positive or negative—the key is the drastic quality of change as the person contemplating suicide perceives it.
The feeling of being alien correlates with the feeling of being worthless and unable to contribute ( returning to the notion of self-concept). The person is more focused on what one has lost amid change as opposed to how change can make for gains.