Merike Sisask: In truth, suicide studies are actually about studying well-being

Merike Sisask, Doctor of Sociology, Professor of Social Health Care, Tallinn University School of Governance, Law and Society

After secondary school, my decision to study law happened by chance. Initially, I wanted to study psychology, but that was only possible as a secondary university degree. As such, I had to choose a suitable degree by the process of elimination. I did not wish to study medical science, forestry or agriculture, and so I chose law. By the middle of my studies, I came to realise that the programme did not suit me. However, I was afraid to break off my studies, so I remained a good student and finished my degree. My thesis topic was already about psychology. I analysed the personality profiles of students within the School of Law.

I started my career as a forensic psychology expert. After Estonia restored independence, I changed my career to become a commercial lawyer. Everything progressed well, but I was not satisfied. My last position as a lawyer was at the Saku Brewery, where I was greatly respected and valued as an employee.

However, I then birthed my third child and stayed home. I used my time away from work to self-reflect and analyse my prospects. I decided to change my career path. I found an advert for a private school specialising in psychology and decided to enrol. It felt scary, as I was not sure whether I was making the right choice and if I had a path of return. After the first lectures, I understood that this was the right choice for me. After three years of study, I was invited to become a psychological counsellor.

I worked for five years as a counsellor. After this, I happened upon an opportunity to conduct research for Professor Airi Värnik at the Suicidology Institute. I interviewed people who had been hospitalised after attempting suicide. At first, I was not very interested in the scientific side of the research, but rather the practical side, or the stories that my interviewees told. My data-collection work was similar to counselling. I did not know it at the time, but these interviews would constitute the core of my future PhD thesis.

After I started to become more interested in research, I understood that I could not dedicate myself equally to being a scientist and a counsellor and still be content with myself. Counsellors need to attend training or improve themselves by learning new methods of therapy, which require time and commitment, but science also takes a lot of time. As such, I had to make a choice, and I decided to commit to science. I obtained a Master’s degree in public health at the University of Tartu, followed by a PhD in sociology at the Tallinn University.

I started researching suicidal behaviour prevention by accident. My interest in the topic grew thanks to the suicide researcher Airi Värnik, who was an old acquaintance of mine. I was primarily drawn to the field by two aspects. Firstly, I felt that suicidal behaviour was a taboo topic in society, which led to many false understandings, even though around 200 people kill themselves in Estonia annually. Secondly, suicide is just the desperate and tragic last step of a long process. As a scientist, I was interested in finding out where that process begins. I wanted to see where a person’s contentedness with life becomes overshadowed by discontent. Right now, the focus of my research is primarily aimed at the starting points of that process.

In truth, suicide studies are actually about studying well-being. Suicidal behaviour and well-being are two different sides of a spectrum. It is astounding how quickly a person can fall from one end to the other. My job is to prevent such falls.

I am currently engaged in various important social initiatives that have the potential to make a change for the better. When becoming a scientist, this was not a major goal for me. All these opportunities have been provided for me along my journey, and I have simply never turned them down.

Even though law was not for me, my law degree ended up benefitting me. I learned to understand legal texts. I also learned to use logic, think systematically, analyse and argue. These skills have helped me a lot as a scientist. Additionally, many who are close to me now are my former course-mates, including my husband.

My current career path has also benefitted much from my former counselling work. Thanks to it, I have a very human-centric perspective on life, instead of being a distant theorist. I can see the real stories behind the data.

The joys of being a scientist:

• I am happy when my students succeed.
• I like being a lecturer.
• My dream as a scientist is to see people become so adaptive and resilient that they will never break. Crises and setbacks are an inherent part of life. It is natural to experience occasional decreases in well-being. People need to have assisting forces within and around themselves that can help them get back up. I would feel gratified if I got to help us move towards a change in society, so that people could be more self-accepting and supportive towards their community, and so psychologists would not be needed as much.

Career:

• Lawyer – 10 years
• Psychology consultant – 5 years
• Scientist – 24 years

Education:
2011 Tallinn University, Doctorate in Sociology
2005 University of Tartu, Master’s in Public Health
2003 Private School of Professional Psychology, Psychological Consultant
1991 Tartu State University, Bachelor’s in Law
1986 Saku Secondary School