The article examines the views of scientists on the causes of suicide and suicidal behavior in the psychoanalytic tradition context.

The research presents a retrospective vision of psychoanalysts of the suicide phenomenon. Based on the theoretical analysis, the authors try to generalize the understanding of the causes and motives of suicidal behavior in psychoanalytic theory. The desire to solve certain life problems motivates people to overcome their inferiority. The article raises issues related to the psychodynamic understanding of the mechanisms of suicidal decision, through the struggle of the instincts of Eros (instinct of life) and Thanatos (instinct of death), the struggle of “I” with the “Super- I”, or through the unconscious metaphorical desire to return to the womb, symbolic acceleration degeneration.

There is no unity in the issue of suicide; representatives of different scientific fields, followers of many psychological schools consider it from different angles. Some individuals fail to do so; they begin to feel the need to destroy others.

The desire to solve certain life problems motivates people to overcome their inferiority. But if some individuals fail to do so, they begin to feel the need to destroy others. Suicide in this context becomes a covert attack on other people.

Through self-destruction, a person seeks to evoke compassion for himself and condemnation of those responsible for his low self-esteem. Psychoanalytic approach primarily tries to explain the phenomenon of suicide by internal unconscious processes, the struggle of “Me” with “Super-Me”. Considering the psychoanalysts’ views, it is concluded that suicide in the psychoanalytic concept is primarily seen as an internal urge arising in the psyche and over time is stimulated by external factors, the struggle between instincts of self-preservation and self-destruction is at the heart of the process.

Based on the theoretical analysis, the authors try to generalize the understanding of the causes and motives of suicidal behavior in psychoanalytic theory. Based on the views of psychoanalysts, it is concluded that suicide in the psychoanalytic concept is primarily seen as an internal motivation that arises in the psyche and over time is stimulated by external factors, at the heart of this process is the struggle between instincts and self-destruction.

Thus, the authors conclude that the psychoanalytic approach, which considers suicide as an act of self-destructive tendencies of the individual, autoaggressive behavior, which is an unconscious way to punish himself and tries to explain the phenomenon of suicide, primarily internal unconscious processes, struggle “I” and “Super-I”.

Key words: psychoanalysis, suicide, suicidal behavior, autoaggression.

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