Ten Best Suicide Methods

[try another castle]

There's also always suicide by cop. This is easier to accomplish in some places more than others.

[Infinity]

Yeah, but would you want to do that to some poor innocent cop? I sure couldn't.

[shanlea]

I wonder how many people who tried and failed are so happy they did. I think people should have the autonomy to do what they want with their own life, but I hope more would try every other alternative first. Its an understandable option if you live with a lot of interior pain.  So far, I've managed to retain enough hope or humor to get me though challenging times, and I think both these traits are necessary.  

But there is nothing worse than the aftermath of losing someone you care about to suicide and wondering what you could have done differently...

[AtomicAnt]

Yeah, but would you want to do that to some poor innocent cop? I sure couldn't.

What about the poor innocent semi-truck driver?

[Truth Searcher]

What a macabre thread.

For those who have succeeded with a suicide attempt and for those of us who have been left behind by a suicide ... I find this thread really sad.  Suicide is no joking matter.

[Anonymous]

Don't fuckin' read it then.  :roll:

[Anonymous]

What a macabre thread.

For those who have succeeded with a suicide attempt and for those of us who have been left behind by a suicide ... I find this thread really sad.  Suicide is no joking matter.

This thread wasn't intended as a joke.

[Infinity]

What about the poor innocent semi-truck driver?

You are right.

Still, he would probably be less traumatized than a cop who shot someone he thought was a threat, because he'd be passively unable to stop in time, rather than being tricked into making a bad decision, as a cop would be.

[Anonymous]

Trains don't stop in time, either.



THIS COULD BE YOU!

[AtomicAnt]

What a macabre thread.

For those who have succeeded with a suicide attempt and for those of us who have been left behind by a suicide ... I find this thread really sad.  Suicide is no joking matter.

That is correct. Suicide is not a joking matter. This thread is discussing alternative attitudes towards suicide. Did you know that there are websites dedicated to encouraging and assisting people who wish to commit suicide? There is concern, particularly in Japan, that young people are finding community on these sites and these sites are influencing to take this drastic course of action. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Most religions condemn suicide. Unless  am mistaken, the Catholic Church considers it a mortal sin and someone committing suicide can not enter heaven.

For those of us with a secular viewpoint, the issue is more complex. It involves the right of the State to force a person to live against that person's will. It involves determining at what point should we as as a society interfere to 'help' someone get past the mental issues causing them to consider this option. At what point does someone have a right to their depression? It involves a discussion of the ethics surrounding euthanasia. And, it of course it involves issues of medical expediency (who was that woman that gained national attention when the Christian Right wanted to force the husband to keep her on life support? Was she really alive?)

I really don't feel sorry for 'those left behind' by someone who commits suicide. Certainly, they can mourn the loss of the loved one, but to think the loved one did something to them, or to think they are at fault because they did not see it coming and interfere, is simply misguided. The person who takes his own life made that decision and it was ultimately his decision to make.

I have sometimes wondered what would happen if humans could simply stop themselves from living. What if a person lost the will to live and could simply down and stop breathing and stop their heart from beating. What would the suicide rate look like then?

I have read about Australian Aborigines that die in a matter of days if they are incarcerated. I don't know if these stories are true, but in the context of programs, it is interesting to contemplate. Would this phenomenon be considered suicide, or homicide?

[Anonymous]

Atomic: What if the left behind are the small children, who may always feel on some level that their parent didn't love them enough to "stay?"  There is no way to fill that hole... that lingering question... that possibility that you weren't lovable enough. I've seen this.

I still feel, ultimately, it is the individual's choice, and also question why people focus on the mortal sin component over the indiviual pain aspect, but let's not pretend that the "left behind" don't matter. Especially children.


Also, its been a looooooooooong time since I've done any biblical study (I'm secular), but where in the BIble is it described as a mortal sin? Does anyone know?

[Anonymous]

MGDP: If I had the cash I'd pay you to remove that putrid photo.   I'm not trying to get into a little war here with "fuck you, don't look then" but it is... deeply disturbing.  And not in a good way.

Now I'm going to make a bet with myelf if I'm going to get some expletive laden comment or if you'll take it in good faith.

[AtomicAnt]

I'm not an expert on Catholicism either, but I believe I read this in the context of history classes. As I recall, there was a time when suicide would preclude the person from being buried in a 'christian' cemetery or from receiving a Catholic burial. This could have been from the Middle Ages and the Church may have changed since then.

I hadn't thought about the children. That surprises me since I know at least one person who lost her father to suicide. I have also contemplated what it would mean for my own son to lose me (just in general terms, like illness or accident) and I know that he would be devastated. That makes the issue more complicated. I imagine someone would have to be really depressed and despairing to take their own life and leave young children behind. That is very sad, indeed.

You've changed my mind. I really would feel bad for the children.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I remember the fact suicide precludes you from entering the pearly gates, but wondered the justification of it.  I mean, would a loving God really reject someone in so much pain?  (Not that I believe in God, but the depiction of him doesn't always draw me into the fold, either.)

One of the most disturbing scenes I have ever scene (also funny) is when Jack Nicholas tells a room full of depressed, suicidal patients crying out for help and hope something like "what if it doesn't get any better? what if this is as good as it gets?!"

[try another castle]

You guys are bringing up a good point regarding someone's right to suicide. I ran into an ethical dilemma several years ago regarding that. Someone i knew online, who wasn't even really a person I knew well, but rather a friend of some friends, posted in her online journal describing pretty much that she had flown into a borderline rage, and had just taken enough pills to OD. Based on the time posted, it looked like I was pretty much the first person to read that entry. I knew that she was in enough of a state to not be bluffing this, either.

Most people would say that if she really wanted to die she wouldn't have posted that entry. I say, who the fuck cares? The took the fucking pills. She set the ball in motion. I didn't know what to do. I know it sounds stupid, but I questioned whether it would be right to interfere, because maybe this was her right to destroy herself.

But my selfish instincts took over, in the sense that I would not be able to live with myself if I just stood by and did nothing. And really, I didn't want this person to die. I checked her friends list, posted in their journals about what was going on. We all joined up in IRC chat to try to figure out who knew what area code she lived in so an ambulance could be called. Also, we were trying to contact her friends there so they could know.

Fortunately, the paramedics got there in time. I guess I say fortunately because she's still alive now and seems to be ok with that, but she is having a very hard time. I didn't even think about her until today when I was reading this thread, and then I wondered how she was, so I checked out her journal. I was happy to know she was still around.

The really brutal thing was the amount of hideous comments that people put in her suicide journal entry the day it happened. Really really mean stuff. I was so mad I was shaking. Which is weird, since I don't really even know this person well.