11. Attempted suicide - William Cowper (1763)

History of Psychiatry Podcast Series

This is the first of three podcasts that give different accounts of suicide. We first came across William Cowper a few weeks back, having an anxiety attack that left him mentally disabled for some months. This episode is a ‘prequel’, dealing with attempted suicide, a topic that it is difficult to examine in the past. While a law student, Cowper first began to be troubled by low self-opinion, anxiety, and depression, culminating in a failed attempt to hang himself. Both his determination to end his own life and his subsequent guilt come through clearly in his writing. IMAGE: William Cowper by Lemuel Francis Abbott, 1792, painting, oil on canvas. Credit: National Portrait Gallery, London / Universal Images Group, Rights Managed / For Education Use Only