The study of phenomena that occur during sleep has always aroused a great interest in various fields of human knowledge, both in religion and in philosophy, as well as in science. Hippocrates and Aristotle conducted different studies and observations on sleep and dreams, focusing on the changes that affect the state of consciousness between the waking and sleeping states. Freud even started from the observations and interpretation of dreams in the foundation of the psychoanalytic method. After the introduction of the electroencephalogram (EEG) by Hans Berger (1929), the beginning of modern sleep medicine began. Currently, the scientific literature in this field is very vast, gathering different aspects of many medical specialties, mainly including psychiatry, neurology, pneumology, cardiology, internal medicine, and others. Precisely because of this broad extension, it is not completely explorable by clinicians and is not always adequate for their needs.

Most cases of suicide (81%-95%) in the general population involve psychiatric illnesses, nearly half of which (48.5%) are mood disorders. Internationally, the overall average suicide rate has been rising gradually over the past half-century, with increases reported in about half of nations, mainly among men, and moderate decreases found in another half, including in Northern Europe and North America. This book reviews whether the use of antidepressants is associated with benefits in terms of completed or attempted suicide, whether the increasing use of SSRIs is associated with benefits in terms of decreased rates of suicide with the aim of generating evidence-based suggestions for clinicians.

The main purpose of this book is to provide the first comprehensive analysis of suicide in psychiatric patients. 95 per cent of those who commit suicide had a psychiatric disorder and yet suicide is rarely investigated in psychiatric patients. The book provides a relevant contribution to the prediction and prevention of suicide. This is a first book devoted to the subject with comprehensive chapters, including epidemiology, risk factors, preventive strategies and available treatments.