Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Overwhelming majority of suicides is the result of untreated or undiagnosed mental illness.
My grief counselor describes it as "terminal mental illness."
You cannot tell your loved one, "If you are strong, stop the running nose."
You certainly cannot tell your loved one, "If you are strong, stop the racing thoughts in your head."
Racing thoughts can lead to suicide. It has nothing to do with character flaws. The break up of a romantic relationship, loss of a job can make things worse, but they are usually not the direct cause of a suicide. It is extremely important to encourage them to seek help.
I don't see it as cowardly because if the suicide is "rational" as in terminal illness, the person is going to die anyway. They are doing their loved ones a favor to not put them through a long painful illness. If it is seemingly irrational like those two rock stars recently, it is usually based in depression, which is a very tough illness.
There are a lot of other things that people do which are truly cowardly, and these people live on to continue to do cowardly and hurtful things. Every day.
Seems to be on the rise everywhere. Famous people have been doing it, and then silly people tweet things like "everyone has a right to take away their own life, because they never had the choice to enter it."
I think it's despicable. Particularly when there's a family involved, and especially with children. Animals don't even kill themselves out of depression.
And now the loons want to legalize medical suicide because the process of dying is too much for them. Weak.
So this is how you feel about the majority of those killing themselves - you know, our military vets? Now give us a post on the mentally ill and homeless (also largely vets)....
Then tell us how they are all heroes and we should stand behind them....until AFTER they are used up. Then we should post calling them cowards.
I've decided that if I were diagnosed with a slow painful incurable condition like cancer, MS or ALS I'll be on the next plane to Switzerland to utilize their generous assisted suicide law. I won't suffer through debilitating years of a horrible disease and bankrupt my family in the process. I call that the most valiant act of bravery I can think of. I call hanging onto life when the quality has dwindled to nothing the most blatant act of cowardice I can think of. Nothing worse than putting your family through hell because you're too terrified of dying.
I just lost my best friend this spring, after a four and a half year battle with cancer. My friend was not afraid to die, but loved life too much to leave it without a fight. That battle added two and a half years to my friend's life, during much of which life was able to be lived normally. My friend's family fought along side their loved one and respected and supported that decision. My friend was able to travel both domestically and internationally, spend time with friends, children, siblings, and grandchildren, pursue hobbies and live as fully as possible during that time.
Another friend is currently living with a terminal brain tumor. She is determined to live her life fully, as did my friend.
A relative is living with terminal lung cancer. She, too, is living as well and as independently as possible during the time left to her.
To call people like my friends and relative "cowards" and "selfish" for choosing to live well and fully with terminal illness demonstrates true ignorance and is cruelly judgmental.
I've also lost a relative to suicide. That decision still ricochets through our family, over 40 years later. But my relative suffered from emotional fragility, a biological condition which had nothing to do with their upbringing by intelligent, loving parents. Their loss was a terrible tragedy - but my relative was mentally ill, not a coward. They were so blinded by their own pain that they could not foresee the damage and pain their choice would inflict on others whom they loved without question.
Instead of being so negatively judgmental about topics which you have not personally experienced, try compassion instead. People deal with severe pain, be it physical or mental or emotional, in various ways, and it's better to try to assuage that pain by being there for them than it is to condemn whatever decision they may make.
I regret to this day that I was unaware of the depth and seriousness of my suicidal relative's pain. I would have done anything to have prevented my relative from making that lethal, permanent choice.
I have no regrets about being there in whatever ways possible for my late friend, and hope my support helped ease the burden of those final days.
So - unless you've been in others' shoes - don't judge.
We put pets out their misery without their consent, but you aren't ok with people in similar circumstances voluntarily choosing to end their suffering?
I would encourage people to seek alternatives, but if they want to take it in their OWN hands, whatever, but don't ask for legislation to make it have anything other than to do with one's own personal decision. Legislation won't make it moral.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BentBow
It is called, The Cowards Way Out.
Here is an article on the 6 reasons: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...ttempt-suicide 1. They're depressed. 2. They're psychotic. 3. They're impulsive 4. They're crying out for help. 5. They have a philosophical desire to die. 6. They have made a mistake.
I do think some commit suicide as revenge against someone though. And, many don't stop to think about what it will do to someone else as they are pretty wrapped up with themselves.
The way I was brought up, I would never take my own life or sanction someone else to do, few understand anymore how much one's faith in God and the laws of God take the decision from my hands for which I am thankful. And, my father died an agonizing death, and he would never, ever have chosen that way out, this is who we are to the depths of our soul.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ohhwanderlust
Fair enough.
But I think people should be allowed to be cowards.
After all, would you rather have suicidal people draining your tax dollars with their mental health care needs? Or be an eyesore in your community if they're homeless/ailing in public?
We can't stop them from committing suicide. I feel sorry for the families of those that committed suicide, sadly I think many blame themselves when there was only so much they could do, if anything at all.
Several years ago, I worked with a woman whose daughter and a long time school female friend carried out a suicide pact, right after high school graduation. They left a note that said that they wanted to end it at the best years of their lives believing that it would never be better than that. I don't see anyway to class that action other than stupid. They obviously didn't stop to think or didn't care what this would do to family and friends.
We had an emergency room doctor shoot himself in the basement of his very nice home with his wife and son upstairs. I don't think she was ever able to sell the house. It was a smaller town.
When I was in high school, 2 boys in the neighborhood had a dad that was in the state mental health facility. He would come home on the weekends sometimes. One Sunday when it was time to go back, he shot himself in the home. I felt so sorry for the boys and his wife.
Obviously either these people didn't care about the pain that they would cause by doing this, or were not able to care about the pain they would cause.
And, yes, I am more than willing to have the mental health of people taken care of by my tax dollars, sadly that is not the case, they just keep seeing more and more cuts. Closing so many mental health facilities, in the name of their "rights", was in reality a cost savings which put many of our people with serious mental health needs on the streets to fend for themselves. We have plenty of places to cut spending without throwing away any segment of our citizens.
Sadly, illegal drug use greatly contributes to the problem as does problems with alcohol.
I do not agree with the name calling, none of it here at C-D. Not weasels, not freaks, not cult members, etc., but expect more of this as the contest blazes on and people go for points/post counts, whatever they are playing for. No group is immune to slaughter when it comes to making points!
I never judge anyone who commits suicide. If their existence was so horrible that death was the preferred alternative, than who am I to judge?
It does bother me when someone young kills themselves over a relationship breakup or something that seemingly wasn't that big of deal it the grand scheme of things. It doesn't bother me when the person has fought whatever demons for many, many years and truly gave it the best they had and tried other options. It also doesn't bother me when the person had a terminal diagnosis and chose to end things on their own terms.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
