#653 Cas Soper - The Evolution of Life Worth Living: Why we choose to live
RECORDED ON JULY 10th 2022.
Dr. Cas Soper is a psychotherapist and psychologist in private practice. Dr. Soper has degrees from the University of Cambridge and the University of London, and is registered by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. His therapeutic work specializes in helping people deal with addiction, depression, bereavement and other life crises. He is the author of The Evolution of Suicide, and, more recently, The Evolution of Life Worth Living: Why we choose to live.
In this episode, we focus on The Evolution of Life Worth Living. We start by talking about the evolution of suicide as a by-product, and Dr. Soper’s “pain-and-brain” theory of suicide. We discuss psychological protections against suicide, termed as “keepers” and “fenders” by Dr. Soper. We get into self-deception, terror management theory, religion, and love. We talk about risk factors and predicting suicide. Finally, we talk about the role of psychotherapy, and how to help people who suffer from suicidal ideation.
Time Links:
Intro
The evolution of suicide - variability, heritability, and differential fitness
Suicide as a by-product - the “pain-and-brain” theory of suicide
The evolution of our cognitive abilities
Psychological protections against suicide: keepers
Symptoms of mental disorders, and their possible protective functions
More protections: the fenders
Self-deception
Is terror management theory valid?
The role of love
Risk factors for suicide
Is it possible to predict suicide?
How psychotherapy works
How to help someone who suffers from suicidal ideation
Follow Dr. Soper’s work!
Follow Dr. Soper’s work:
Website: http://soper.pt/
ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/3MXMWrz
The Evolution of Life Worth Living: https://amzn.to/3Jfyc5b
Twitter handle: @C_A_Soper