Suicidal friend

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by classicman

Personally I try to think outside myself and about what my loved ones would go through if I did something like that..

That's what has kept me from 'doing things' (to myself or someone else), more than once.



[drift] If you love someone, tell them everytime you (or they) go away for whatever reason. It might be the last time you ever see or speak to one another. The last words my grandmother and I spoke to each other were "I love you." It kept me from losing my mind when she died. [/drift]

[Datalyss]

Originally Posted by classicman

Focus on the real issue, Datalyss.

Hey, it was just a small observation. If UT doesn't mind having a security-unfriendly username on board, this his business.

Originally Posted by classicman

Start your on thread if you wat to discuss why certain things are done the way they are here.

Why? It's not like we don't frequently go off topic around here.. Anywho, I'm done discusssing it. I won't mention it again (in this thread)...unless somebody else does.

Now, as for the real issue. Suicide. Here's my bottom line on the subject. It's the ultimate cowardly act. Life kicking yer ass? Suck it up! Find a way to deal with it that doesn't involve killing yourself. Remember, suicide is an automatic ticket to hell (according to the bible), where things are said to be much worse.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by Datalyss

Now, as for the real issue. Suicide. Here's my bottom line on the subject. It's the ultimate cowardly act. Life kicking yer ass? Suck it up! Find a way to deal with it that doesn't involve killing yourself. Remember, suicide is an automatic ticket to hell (according to the bible), where things are said to be much worse.

None of which are useful ways of bringing someone back from the edge.

Been there, done that.

Hey, if it works for you, I'm all for it, but it's not generally successful.

[wolf]

Although I could, with very little work, figure out who is posting from the anonymous account, I don't.

I don't need to know.

What I would hope is that person understands that we will listen, and help where we can.

[DanaC]

I second that Wolf.

Suicide's a funny business. I remember mum and her colleagues being really freaked out when a lad (a nurse I think) at the hospital killed himself. They were all so shocked because he was a really sunny and popular member of the team. Didn't seem depressed at all. Everything in his life appeared, to those looking in, to be going very well. I don't think they ever did figure out why.

When mum was training for Samaritans a couple of years ago, one of the things they told them was never to try and talk someone out of it. What they suggested instead was to ask the person what they expected to happen after they'd done it (or somethng along those lines). Get them to think past that moment and into what follows. For a lot of people, what they're actually wanting to do is press the stop button. It's less about dying and more about ending their present situation/emotional state. It can be a bit of a reality check to try and think past that point.

[DanaC]

I've never understood the idea of suicide being a 'cowardly' act. There've been times I've really wanted to, but I just couldn't quite bring myself to push the blade into my wrist, or step off a bridge. Fear of pain. Fear of changing my mind once beyond the point of no return. These things stopped me far more efficiently than thoughts of loved ones. Therefore in my case, cowardice was what stopped me from committing suicide.

Suicide can be the psychological equivalent of lying down in the snow because you're too exhausted to make the next step. That's not cowardice, that's defeat. Or it can be borne of the conviction that the very people who will be most hurt by your death would be better off without you. That's not cowardice, it's delusion. Or it is not even really about death at all, but an overwhelming desire to hit the stop button; when really all that's needed is a pause. Or they're caught in a moment and can't see a way through it. That's not cowardice, it's simple human frailty. Sometimes our minds take us to dark places. How we navigate through those places is affected by a whole host of factors, including basic brain chemistry.

[Datalyss]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I've never understood the idea of suicide being a 'cowardly' act. There've been times I've really wanted to, but I just couldn't quite bring myself to push the blade into my wrist, or step off a bridge. Fear of pain. Fear of changing my mind once beyond the point of no return. These things stopped me far more efficiently than thoughts of loved ones. Therefore in my case, cowardice was what stopped me from committing suicide.

Call it want you want. IMO, if you'd rather kill yourself than deal with your life, you might as well be remembered as a coward. Deciding not to kill yourself, for whatever reason, is not cowardice, it's bravery. It says that your brave enough to go on dealing with your life.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by Datalyss

Call it want you want. IMO, if you'd rather kill yourself than deal with your life, you might as well be remembered as a coward. Deciding not to kill yourself, for whatever reason, is not cowardice, it's bravery. It says that your brave enough to go on dealing with your life.

You obviously have never been suicidal and completely have no idea what it is like to be suicidal. First, for the most part, suicidal thoughts are completely irrational. And I don't mean that in condescending way since those thoughts are almost impossible to control. If you have ever had bad cases of anxiety you would know this.

Second, depression is, at least from my experience, the ultimate feeling of emptiness. And that emptiness is what leads people to suicide. You lose all your drive and motivation. When you have that feeling of emptiness, you feel there simply is no point in going on.

Neither of those have anything to do with not being able to "handle life". Expecting a truly depressed person to control those emotions can honestly be similar to expecting a diabetic to naturally balance their blood sugar levels. Much of it is purely physical.

[Datalyss]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

You obviously have never been suicidal and completely have no idea what it is like to be suicidal.

Wrong!

Ya' know what, fergit this. If you wanna mislead yourself to think suicide is justified in certain situations, that's your damn problem. As for me, even a stray suicidal thought here 'n' there can't make me take my own life. I can always bring myself out of it.

Don't bother replying. I'm done in this thread.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by Datalyss

I can always bring myself out of it.

That is why my statement still stands.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

First, for the most part, suicidal thoughts are completely irrational.

Not to the person who is having them. From the individual's perspective they are making a reasoned, logical, and completely rational choice.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by wolf

Not to the person who is having them. From the individual's perspective they are making a reasoned, logical, and completely rational choice.

Well of course. My point is that suicidal people are not in the same logical mindset that non-suicidal people are, which argues against Datalyss' argument that these people are weak minded or cowards. You don't fully realize how irrational your thoughts have been until you completely come out of the depression or other mental state.

[Tulip]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

First, for the most part, suicidal thoughts are completely irrational.

Originally Posted by wolf

Not to the person who is having them. From the individual's perspective they are making a reasoned, logical, and completely rational choice.

Not always true. Even when a person knows suicide isn't the way to go, he/she simply doesn't want to be around anymore, doesn't want to feel the pain anymore.

[Cicero]

Looks like the OP just found a good article they wanted to post. So: anonymous. Are you just being informative, or is there something you have on your mind?

[Datalyss]

Originally Posted by Cicero

Looks like the OP just found a good article they wanted to post. So: anonymous. Are you just being informative, or is there something you have on your mind?

Yeah, anony, help us out here. Don't just post something without any explanation.