Too much suicide?
Terry Boal, who wrote the below, is right -- "suicide" is one of my key words. Is he also right that I over-report it? I'd be curious to hear some thoughts on this.
One of your key words must be suicide. Tragic though they may be and close to home as who amongst us grappling with depression hasn't considered it, I think you are over reporting them. We have all lost friends and are aware when a public figure does themselves in, but the suicide rate even for those depressed is very small. So I think you should reconsider the gratuitous over reporting. There are other issues to deal with such as very often suicide is selfish and cowardly. You are gone but those who loved or cared about you are still around and wonder what there role they played or you may leave children and a partner behind. Liz I know it is an issue close to your heart as you have been on the verge. Most of us have been but most of us, like you don't do it.
Comments
I so disagree with this statement. We have not all lost someone to suicide. I personally have never met anyone who later killed themselves. I am alone in my life as far as living with a shadow of suidicality as a constant companion. No one in 'meat space' knows how I feel, or how I struggle.
I think suicide is UNDER reported everywhere. I think it's sensationalized too often, but not talked about in a realistic fashion.
I'm glad that I found your blog and the communities I've encountered. It's made me realize that I'm not alone in my struggle. It's important to talk about it. Keep expressing yourself as you see fit.
Posted by: lavalady | December 28, 2007 05:11 PM
anyone who labels suicide as "cowardly and selfish" has never been really suicidal.
that's my story and i'm sticking to it and i've spent more than a year seriously considering it.
Posted by: z0tl | December 28, 2007 10:22 PM
I think words like selfish and cowardly are interesting choices considering the nature of the suicidal act.
Can any behavior that ends the existence of or eliminates the self be called selfish? I think self-less is more like it. And as far as cowardly goes, I bet you that word is probably not used by almost anyone who has actually attempted suicide.
I have no study to cite to back this up, but I think those two words: selfish and cowardly are two that are often associated with suicidal behavior.
While I get that people "go there" in thinking about the suicidal, I think "self-involved" and "dramatic" or "extreme" may be closer to the mark.
Posted by: frank | December 31, 2007 12:57 AM
"Out of options" is the phrase that best describes my frame of mind when I attempted suicide. I no longer do that, merely because I won't do that to my sweet husband. But staying alive for another person is a chore beyond belief.
Interestingly, I was (finally) diagnosed with hypothyroidism this spring. Well, the blood test results came back in January but no one bothered to tell me. I still have PTSD and episodes of serious depression, but the disthymia I've lived with since my late twenties is gone. Imagine how much easier my life would have been had someone listened to me decades ago instead of blowing me off when I brought up my many, many hypothyroid symptoms...
As for "selfish" and "cowardly", I think it's selfish and cowardly of you to judge people in pain rather than making the effort to actually know what you're talking about. Even if your only interest is in the survivors (fair enough), your attitude is so unhelpful as to push someone over the cliff--which isn't very helpful to the survivors you say you care about. Please think about this. Judgement is a cheap way out.
Posted by: Sherry | January 3, 2008 10:10 AM