Discussion What's one thing you wished people understood about suicide?

[camusfan_ig]

Title. Or just suicidal ideation in general

I'll guess I'll go first, I wished people understood that commiting suicide isn't necessarily a cowardly thing. Actually, i think it takes a lot more courage than the average person thinks. You're quite literally going against your biology, in order to achieve peace. Idk, I wished people understood

What abt you guys?

 

[dust-in-the-wind]

People don't realize the methods themselves are not foolproof and the potential implications of failure, especially with OD's. I read a prolife article about MAID for mental health. The author said if someone is suicidal they can easily die, they don't need MAID. It made me so mad!

 

[strawberryshark]

i don't think suicide is cowardly act. it takes a lot more strength than people think.

however, when my thoughts about it turn serious, i do think i may be too much of a coward and not have the strength it takes to go through with it.

i think that's where the association of "suicide" and "coward" come together, imo.

 

[Forever Sleep]

Mine would be tackling another common criticism of suicide- that it is a selfish act. I imagine plenty of suicidal people would much rather not subject their loved ones to hurt and grief. Many here in fact wish they'd never existed to begin with. Not only because it would have spared them the suffering they went through, but also- it would mean they weren't in the terrible position of being so desperate to leave but then, so guilt ridden about hurting those left behind.

I would want people who insist that those suffering must stay here to realise just what they are putting them through and, for how long. We can be holding on for the sake of others for years, even decades. I want them to think about how unfair of an ask that actually is.

 

[pthnrdnojvsc]

1. i wish people could understand that pain can be a billion times worse than anyone can imagine.

on top of this : 2. such unbearable pain can be unending and constant unbearable pain, or long lasting and constant unbearable pain.

of course it's logical for someone threatened with such extreme torture to want to avoid that hell with suicide. so suicide can be logical and is not always due to mental illness as they have everyone brainwashed to believe

3. pain can be so bad it makes everything else meaningless.

4 everything else is meaningless anyway for several other reasons . well i'm talking about the pleasure addictions and things they constantly say are so meaningful, important , fun ,pleasurable enjoyable . .. these are all just very fleeting meaningless addictions imo

there's like 5... 1000 more on top of these that show avoiding #1 is all that matters, a book but #1 is enough by itself.

 

[bellaisdonewithlife]

The notion that you have to be mentally ill to commit suicide—I'm tired of people throwing blanket statements on everything because the truth is too uncomfortable for them. All it takes is some terrible life circumstances that push you to your limits, and everyone has different limits as to what they can endure.

 

[areagarden]

I've always hated the "suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem" rhetoric. I've been suicidal since I was 10 years old. Nothing temporary about that.

 

[Le temps perdu]

People shouldn't blame those who attempt to end their lives by jumping from buildings or in front of trains. In my view, as long as a person's actions do not physically harm others, they should not be blamed so harshly. What many people who blame them fail to recognize is that the lack of legal access to MAID is the main reason why some people resort to these methods. If such options were available, I believe the vast majority of them would choose those options instead. Yet many people blame suicidal people while refusing to discuss the alternatives.

Earlier, I came across a video on Douyin about a Station attendant who stopped a women from jumping in front of train. Many comments blamed her, saying that she shouldn't cause trouble for society, someone said she should be detained for seven days. I left a comment suggesting that society should at least legalize MAID, but several people opposed the idea. I found that quite disappointing.

 

[E4syW3y0u7]

That it's not as simple as in the movies...

 

[iheartethanpage]

Suicide in reality is ethical. Because mental suffering is similar if not worse to physical suffering. Suicide is no different than taking someone off life support

It doesn't just solve current problems. It also solves future problems.

 

[angelhopes]

That people vent to feel heard and seen and get it out of their chest. I really hate it when I tell my friends how I feel and they would say "stfu no you're not" like yes tf I am

 

[DarkFriend.]

I wish they understood how to fucking do it effectively.

 

[Reeincarnation]

I'll guess I'll go first, I wished people understood that commiting suicide isn't necessarily a cowardly thing. Actually, i think it takes a lot more courage than the average person thinks. You're quite literally going against your biology, in order to achieve peace. Idk, I wished people understood.

Highly agree with this point.

-People that say suicide is selfish, saying that is diminishing the pain of the person who thinks of committing/committed and turning the focus on someone else instead of the person that really needs help. Also it's quite ignorant because we never know what goes through someone's head that takes them to consider such outcome.

-That suicidal thoughts are not enough to take someone seriously, or that people make fun of the person for having suicidal thoughts but not following through. Wether they take action or not, suicidal ideation is more than enough to deserve support from people.

-That some people "have no right to be suicidal" because they might "not have it as hard as others" that is another ignorant and apathetic statement. Lots of people are suicidal for several reasons, and there is no list as to what's acceptable and what isn't for considering it.

It just makes me sad overall that anyone would diminish someone's feelings like that. They don't realize that they are literally contributing to what they dislike so much.

 

[burninghill]

A few things.

One, that the actual act of suicide is very difficult. I was talking to my boyfriend the other day about a film where a character tries to shoot himself in the head, but can't bring himself to do it. My boyfriend insisted that it wasn't that difficult.
Unless you've been in a position where you're actively trying to die, I guess it's quite hard to understand the type of fight your brain will put up.

Secondly, OTC overdoses don't fucking work.

Thirdly, some people are suicidal for no concrete reason, which is really difficult to understand. Everybody always seems to be searching for a reason or a cause. Sometimes there just isn't one.
To elaborate on this, I'd also want people to understand that suicide isn't always an escape from a terrible life. For a large part of my existence, suicide has been an impulse born from intrusive thoughts. It's something I'm really desperate to do, just not entirely because I'm depressed.

Finally, I wish people were more empathetic towards others who don't necessarily care about the ethics of their chosen method. This is sort of a critique targeted towards this community. Like, seriously, you're going to hear that somebody wants to throw themselves infront of a truck and question the ethics of involving the driver?
I don't think that suicidal people should be expected to consider the ethics of how they die. I do really really seriously appreciate the respect and maturity that people have on here when it comes to the way they want to die and where, but I don't think that everyone should be expected to take that approach.

 

[urgent]

1. i wish people could understand that pain can be a billion times worse than anyone can imagine.

on top of this : 2. such unbearable pain can be unending and constant unbearable pain, or long lasting and constant unbearable pain.

of course it's logical for someone threatened with such extreme torture to want to avoid that hell with suicide. so suicide can be logical and is not always due to mental illness as they have everyone brainwashed to believe

3. pain can be so bad it makes everything else meaningless.

4 everything else is meaningless anyway for several other reasons . well i'm talking about the pleasure addictions and things they constantly say are so meaningful, important , fun ,pleasurable enjoyable . .. these are all just very fleeting meaningless addictions imo

there's like 5... 1000 more on top of these that show avoiding #1 is all that matters, a book but #1 is enough by itself.

Exactly, my physical pain is so extreme I can't enjoy or care about anything else. I can't even think. There's no quality of life. It is scary to knowing it will get worse. The only way to stop it is to exit. I need that so badly right now. I hear about murder suicide and I think more of them are out of love than people realize.

 

[StarryEyed]

That not everything on Planet Earth can be explained or can be understood or can be reasoned. Can we all agree on that? Point made.
(I mean that directed towards people who don't experience suicidal thinking, which is how I understand the question in the OP)

 

[Passenger4224]

The number one thing I wish people would understand, is that some people just don't want to fucking live

 

[tomame]

it has nothing to do with our lack of respect for others of why we don't want to be here.

it has everything to do with us and a whole host of reasons one could want to give up.

how terribly humble and helpless and hopeless one must get to to arrive at such a state

 

[zoidberg]

That the penalty for botching a suicide is so great that if the person attempting it knew in advance, they would never consider trying. I think that's the best benefit of SASU, having accurate information on how many ways an attempt could make one worse off or massively worse off than before.

 

[REGRETOSIS]

I wish more people understood that, even if the human body may be fragile in some ways, it is very hard to attempt and succeed without the right resources. I keep seeing people yammer about "well if they were actually suicidal they would've-" not how it works. Easily accessible methods can't be relied on half the time and it sucks

 

[Forveleth]

Arresting someone like they are a criminal "for their own good", does not help. Locking someone up for 72 hours and treating them like an animal does not help. Dumping them back on the street after three days to go back to their exact same situation does not help. Usually all of these things leave people worse off.

 

[troubled_puppet]

for me and how it feels on my worst days, it's not a cry for help and i dunno why people say that it is. those are the days im isolating the most, and those are my "angry depression" days, not "sad depression" days. those are the days where im defensive and don't want to answer anybody's questions, not the doctor's, not my therapists. i dunno. if the world makes it obvious i don't belong, then im going to internalize that.

 

[Zaphkiel]

I wish other people would understand that sometimes things are not salvageable and it's better off to go instead of trusting that everything is "gonna be ok" magically.
It's just an human invention, nature is scary and you're not gonna tell the half eaten antelope thats everything gonna be ok.
once you're beyond recovery, be it mental or physical, dont try t force people (or anything) to stay.
But this is a thing that you can only really understand when shit hit the fan, even if you managed to recover afterward, and all those "is gonna be ok" people never really been in this state

 

[lifeisadream]

I wish people understood how incredibly painful living is for some of us. Feeling the relentless pull of suicidal thoughts isn't a cry for attention. It's because every single second of living causes horrific pain & suffering. Then they utter the "things will get better" sentence that trips off the tongue. No it won't, theres no magic wand.