How do you feel about suicide?

[hollywood926]

It seems when we hear that someone has resorted to suicide, such as Mr. Thompson, there are always people who just get mad and have no pity. How do you feel about it?

[Cary]

1. I vote other because. . .

I believe we are given only one chance. Others believe otherwise, but no one knows anything for sure.

If one has some sort of terminal illness and can expect nothing but pain, then I think suicide is appropriate. Otherwise I think we're here to make the best of this life. And this life does have a lot to offer.

Having said that I do have pity for anyone who feels this is an appropriate way out. I've known a few. I miss them terribly.

[fudge stripe cookays]

2. Tried it myself years ago.

Am glad I didn't succeed, but I've been pretty depressed lately again. I couldn't consider it now knowing how much I hurt others the first time.

It's not for anyone to judge how someone feels. It is simply for them to BE there for that person. If you love them, you must convince them that they are loved, valued, and will be missed.

When you are in so much pain that you see no other solution, you just want the constant sadness to end.

FSC

[kick-ass-bob]

3. Wouldn't ever try it myself...

and I don't judge others actions, because I don't know anything about their situation.

[LSdemocrat]

4. I think suicide is wrong, but I can still feel pity for the circumstances

[saltpoint]

5. Voted 'Other' because I just don't have a damned idea --

-- what to think about it.

I don't condemn Hunter Thompson or anyone else who attempts or commits suicide, because I think compassion should trump judgment there, especially with the stakes so high.

I'm having no success wrestling with the karmic aspects, though.

Great poll question, but I'm just in a muddle.

[SarahB]

6. I'm not getting into ...

the darkest places my own mind has been at various times in my life. I just understand what despair can do to a person and the kind of pain that can make a person feel as though there may be no other options. Sometimes hope is a difficult thing to hang onto when we are hurting, but if we can see that for just a second and get the help we need, it can bring us to another, better place.

[Ivan Sputnik]

7. If someone is in a truly hopeless situation,

such as a terminal illness, I can't condemn them for doing it. If someone does it because of depression -- well, if they're THAT depressed, then they're not in their "right mind," so it's also hard to condemn them. It's just very sad.

[sybylla]

8. I've seen first hand what it does to a family

I do feel empathy for those who are in such dispair that they see no other options. But I also believe suicide is one of the most selfish acts anyone can ever do in situations that don't involve a terminal illness.

In my particular situation, the problems that caused the person to choose suicide didn't go away, they were just left behind for others to deal with. You don't do that to people you care about. It's selfish to think you don't have to deal with the most difficult aspects of life, that you don't have to take responsibility for your own life and your future. And this doesn't even begin to address the pain and guilt the surviving family feels after suicide.

Each suicide is different, but I think there are few of them (for reasons other than health) where selfishness doesn't play a role.

[miss_kitty]

9. It's a personal choice like abortion

I feel that if suicide was not against the law or demonised in this culture, people left behind would not suffer so.

I feel sad for all involved. I lost a friend last month to suicide. I wish she would have chosen to face her problems, but she was in so much pain for so long, I think she felt it wouldn't make much difference if problems of her own making were disappeared.

RIP, girl. :cry:

[Spider Jerusalem]

10. My comments on the subject are in another thread...

here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3151201&mesg_id=3151308

[RedCappedBandit]

11. Only those who are ignorant

when it comes to depression, believe that it is the coward's way out.

[Mojambo]

12. Very true. n/t

[blue neen]

14. Exactly.

Suicide is not cowardly. It's not selfish. It's not the easy way out. It's not an excuse. It has a cause: clinical depression.

Depression is a bona fide medical condition, just like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. It's a very painful disease that can be quite disabling. It is treatable in many cases, but sometimes the treatment doesn't work. Obviously, the consequences can be tragic.

We need to work toward understanding depression and how to treat it more quickly. We also need to educate the public that depression is the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain; it's NOT just a state of mind. This education is needed so that people will be more likely to seek the medical help that they need.

[the Princess]

13. On some days - really good

On other days..................not so much! :)