Staring Down Death.

BACKGROUND: Lowered eye blink rate may be a clinically useful indicator of acute, imminent, and severe suicide risk. Diminished eye blink rates are often seen among individuals engaged in heightened concentration on a specific task that requires careful planning and attention. Indeed, overcoming one's biological instinct for survival through suicide necessitates premeditation and concentration; thus, a diminished eye blink rate may signal imminent suicidality.

AIMS: This article aims to spur research and clinical inquiry into the role of eye blinks as an indicator of acute suicide risk.

METHOD: Literature relevant to the potential connection between eye blink rate and suicidality was reviewed and synthesized.

RESULTS: Anecdotal, cognitive, neurological, and conceptual support for the relationship between decreased blink rate and suicide risk is outlined.

CONCLUSION: Given that eye blinks are a highly observable behavior, the potential clinical utility of using eye blink rate as a marker of suicide risk is immense. Research is warranted to explore the association between eye blink rate and acute suicide risk.