Suicide.

[All_That_Chaz]

Why do people commit suicide? Is it a "selfish" act? How do you define "selfish?"

Discuss your thoughts concerning this difficult subject here.

[awein999]

It's not pointless. People commit suicide for a reason. It's the opposite of pointless. It's an escape. A lot of people who are very sad or have complicated problems/issues do not commit suicide because they don't want to damage loved ones by leaving. In that aspect committing suicide is a selfish act.

[UnkownMan]

People commit suicide because they think that it's their last resort. When all else fails, why not end it all?
People who comtemplate suicide obviously have a lack of thought-process. If only they knew there were other ways... ...
RIP Jellygod.

[Shikari]

Originally Posted by Plan_Bsk81127

Suicide is completely pointless and stupid imo.

When you:

- Are totally out of money, owing even to God itself;
- Are left by the one you love, maybe without no apparent reason;
- Have absolutely no friends, or no one next to you;
- Have mental illnesses, like depression;
and/or
- Witness someone you love dying.

Believe me, death becomes a temptating option.



Sometimes, you are under such a great amount of pressure that you do can help to handle it, or are experiecing incredibly big frustration in life, that suicide becomes, in your head, an option, an escape valve. Becomes your salvation. So, I don't think suicide as a selfish or "stupid" thing, because, well, people have reasons to do that.

[LoneW0lf]

Originally Posted by Shikari

When you:

- Are totally out of money, owing even to God itself;
- Are left by the one you love, maybe without no apparent reason;
- Have absolutely no friends, or no one next to you;
- Have mental illnesses, like depression;
and/or
- Witness someone you love dying.

Believe me, death becomes a temptating option.

Unless it's all of those above in one situation then it's pretty selfish. It's pretty odd when younger kids do it. I can understand if you are overwhelmed with debt and have no one who is your friend/spouse/any real family. But, if you have any of those relationships, suicide is pretty selfish. At least IMO.

I understand that someone can be going through deep pain and may have a very hard time with life, but when a young kid does it because, my parents hate me, they took away me computer for 2 weeks ////wrists, or, my girlfriend of 2 years broke up with me, I better kill myself.

That is what doesn't make sense to me. Any amount of depression can be overcome as long as you have support from friends/spouse/family. If you are going through a very difficult time in yer and you think about suicide, think about the other options that are available. Any type of therapy can be a very big help, wither it's from a professional or just from a friend. Even just looking at some of the positives you have in yer life should be a big help.

Anyway, I believe suicide is selfish and pretty pointless unless the situation you are in is overwhelming bleak. I only think it should be attempted if you are literally being physically/mentally tortured somewhere where escape is impossible.

That's just my opinion, I look forward to reading everyone's opinion.

[Reincarnate]

Repost:

Suicide *is* selfish. But so is discrediting the problems of someone who wants to commit suicide. To be selfish is to put your own needs/thoughts/opinions above others -- without empathy.

You may be in quite a lot of pain, but killing yourself means that you are going to tear apart those that are close to you. Losing someone is very, very hard -- emotionally, intellectually, psychologically, financially, logistically, and spiritually.

Similarly, though, it's just as tactless to say "suicide is cowardly and is reserved for those that can't deal with their own problems." Such armchair logic is laughable -- sometimes problems can be so immense to the point where living is suffering. We have a natural inclination to live... you have to be suffering quite hard deep down in order to ever *seriously* attempt to take your own life.

It's selfish on both sides. It's always sad, and it's always a shame. People love us more than we'd care to acknowledge sometimes, and all it takes is a simple reaching out to get the help you need.

[kommisar]

for people who were too coward to live life

[windsurfer-sp]

This Is Critical Thinking.

Originally Posted by Wikipedia article on sucide

Mental disorders are frequently present at the time of suicide with estimates from 87%[12] to 98%.[13] When broken down into type mood disorders are present in 30%, substance abuse in 18%, schizophrenia in 14%, and personality disorders in 13.0% of suicides

So lets say 80% of sucides are affected by mental disorders. My brother has a mental disorder and I do not consider his actions to be selfish, he does not intend to be the way he is as such but has a chemical in balance in his brain.

So I would say most suicides are not intentionally selfish due to mental illness.

[5.points]

Suicide is indeed a selfish act when you think of the hurt in can put into family members and loved ones, and how it can cause other people to think that it was their fault. However a majority of the times people commit suicide, the idea of being missed or causing more damage doesn't cross their minds. Sometimes it can seem like the only way out of emotional pain, physical pain, or anything else that can make someone feel absolutely helpless is to just end it all at once.

As previously stated, suicide can also be caused by more than just pain. Some mental illnesses can cause a person to be isolated, alone, anxious, and helpless. This is why suicide is much more prevalent in people with mental or personality disorders such as Schizophrenia since it can cause a person to think irrationally and it becomes much more easy to talk oneself into suicide.

Edit: Aside from my granddad every family related death I had to deal with has been a suicide. They where all intelligent selfless people but had a single problem that eventually consumed their lives.

[windsurfer-sp]

Also for anyone personally struggling with the topic, please seek help right away.

http://suicidepreventionaust.org/Get...p/Default.aspx

[Without A Contraceptive]

not to sound crass or crude but i feel strongly that suicide is a weak, "selfish" action. sure you may feel that there is no other option, you have nothing left to lose etc. lets just end it... but this is like a slap in the face of those around you that love you. how is it not selfish to kill yourself when the people that love you would do anything to help you? i know that my mother would give her own life to keep me alive, and i bet yours would do the same. suicide not only leaves parents without a child, but sends the message; "hey, you guys didnt do enough".

this and other thoughts will weigh on the minds of all who really loved the person who committed suicide forever. i know this from experience.

even if you are desperate for an escape from the world around you, youre severely depressed, etc. it is pure weakness that leads one to commit suicide. i dont understand how people can say that suicide is not a selfish action... if someone could explain id appreciate it

[windsurfer-sp]

Is this suppose to be a chit-chat thread about peoples feelings on suicide and how they think it might happen to people or is it suppose to be somewhat of a factual discussion?

Factual things:
Relating personal experience with suicide (attempts etc...)
Having people close to you attempt/commit suicide.
People who study/work with suicidal people.
Research on suicide etc...

Sorry, I guess people spouting bull**** that they think of off the top of there heads and calling it intelligent discussion isn't my cup of tea.

[Reincarnate]

Originally Posted by Without A Contraceptive

not to sound crass or crude but i feel strongly that suicide is a weak, "selfish" action. sure you may feel that there is no other option, you have nothing left to lose etc. lets just end it... but this is like a slap in the face of those around you that love you. how is it not selfish to kill yourself when the people that love you would do anything to help you? i know that my mother would give her own life to keep me alive, and i bet yours would do the same. suicide not only leaves parents without a child, but sends the message; "hey, you guys didnt do enough".

this and other thoughts will weigh on the minds of all who really loved the person who committed suicide forever. i know this from experience.

even if you are desperate for an escape from the world around you, youre severely depressed, etc. it is pure weakness that leads one to commit suicide. i dont understand how people can say that suicide is not a selfish action... if someone could explain id appreciate it

where it gets complicated is where the observations are legitimate. Consider someone who has a family that legitimately DOESN'T care about their wellbeing and WOULDN'T give their own lives to keep that person alive. Consider someone who may have few to no close friends/family or may be experiencing severe medical or financial troubles. Perhaps they screwed up horribly in school or can't find work etc. Perhaps these problems keep cropping up even with a healthy dose of help.

When is suicide "acceptable"? Where do we draw the line?

[Zageron]

Fact:
If you frequent TGB, this forum is not for you.

I've known suicidal people. It isn't very fun to hang around them, but the more you do the more you understand what they're going through. I've never had one 'go' on me, so I don't know what that is like. But they aren't happy people...

[Kesshutsu]

The only way I could see suicide as personally valid is if you somehow live through it. What meaning does suicide have then? As a meaningless act, there's no reason to do or not do it, or anything else.

[Shikari]

Originally Posted by LoneW0lf

Unless it's all of those above in one situation then it's pretty selfish. It's pretty odd when younger kids do it. I can understand if you are overwhelmed with debt and have no one who is your friend/spouse/any real family. But, if you have any of those relationships, suicide is pretty selfish. At least IMO.

Originally Posted by Reincarnate

You may be in quite a lot of pain, but killing yourself means that you are going to tear apart those that are close to you. Losing someone is very, very hard -- emotionally, intellectually, psychologically, financially, logistically, and spiritually.

Well, my response is:


Sometimes, it's so much pressure that one just can't handle, and he/she just can't think about anyone's feelings. In this case, in my opinion, it's more like despair than selfishness, because he/she just want to end it all, and only this, nothing else.

Imagine a 15, 16 years old, or even younger, with a "weak" mind and feelings, passing through the end of a relationship that he/she thought it would be forever (I know, nothing is forever, specially at this age, but who never felt like this before?), or the divorce of his/her parents, or the death of a friend, or even these three situations together. As I said before, death becomes a salvation in these cases.

[Yieldsign]

Originally Posted by Kesshutsu

The only way I could see suicide as personally valid is if you somehow live through it. What meaning does suicide have then? As a meaningless act, there's no reason to do or not do it, or anything else.

uhm what

I suppose the "meaning" in it for its perpetrator is that the onslaught of torment/pain ends.

not sure why something has to have "meaning" (which in itself is a really dubious term; i don't even know what you mean by that honestly) to be "valid" (and again, what does "valid" mean here? does valid mean meaningful?)

[darkshark]

Several people stated that suicide is selfish because the people around you love you and would be more than willing to help you...what if they're not? What if you're going through a horrible emotional or physical battle, and you literally have no one to turn to. Say your mom abandons you, she hates you. Your dad died. You have no friends. You spend each day in solitude and do nothing but think about the horrible things happening in your life. No one would care. Would you end it? After all, people don't show they love you until you're gone.

I'm playing the devils advocate here, I don't feel as though suicide should EVER be an option, unless you're already on your death bed or are in some sort of vegetative state.

[UnkownMan]

People keep saying "well what if s/he has no friends". Maybe if they stop being a whiny bitch and actually talk to people, they'd get some.
Apparently, people don't see these things. They don't have any money? They can get a minimum wage job. No friends? Stop complaining and talk to people, maybe at the minimum wage job. Parents neglecting you? Stand up for yourself and try to communicate with them. They'd love to hear of how you m ade friends at your minum wage job.
I've seen this stuff multiple times, and it's just nothing to me now.

[Shikari]

Originally Posted by UnkownMan

Maybe if they stop being a whiny bitch and actually talk to people, they'd get some.

Nice advice there, man. If I was a "whiny bitch", I would thank you. Seriously.