An Ancient Egyptian poem could be the oldest description of suicidal thoughts.

The poem, entitled Dispute over Suicide, was written by an unnamed Egyptian writer between 2000 and 1740 BC.

A new analysis by a psychiatrist and an Egyptologist claims that the poem describes the "psychopathology" of suicidal thoughts.

The analysis suggests ancient civilisations could provide insight into wider mental health issues.

It comes as the Royal College of Psychiatrists gathers in Glasgow for its annual meeting today.

That's the lot. The poem comes from Berlin Papyrus No. 3024 and is variously know as "The dispute between a man and his ba" or "The discourse between a man and his ba" or "The conversation between a man and his ba" the first being the one Lichtheim uses. There is an earlier translation by Faulkner called "The man who was tired of life".

A copy of the Faulkner translation can be found here: Debate between a man tired of life and his soul. The hieroglyphs from Faulkner are reproduced here: The Man who was tired of Life, Faulkner, R.O., Journal for Egyptian Archaeology, No. 42, 1956, pp. 22-26.

An essay on the subject can be found here: Discourse of a Man with his Ba: the chaotic heart and the just ways of the living soul in Ancient Egyptian didactical literature & funerary anthropology, Wim van den Dungen, 2001.

Ancient poem's insight into suicide, The Scotsman, UK, July 10, 2006.

UPDATE: I have found the original press release for this here: Ancient Egyptian poem could be oldest description of suicidal thoughts, The Royal College of Psychiatrists, London, UK, July 10, 2006. This states that the poem in question is actually "The Eloquent Peasant" but the lines quoted are from the original poem I listed above.