Is Suicide Wrong

[ginnyfizz]

Can I suggest that religious references should be avoided as I was under the impression that religious debate was banned?

[Balagor]

Personally I see my own suicide as almost inevitable unless there is a miraculous change of my fortunes and I DO mean that it would have to be something very very big and MIRACULOUS to stop me from going down that path.

I have been there, 40 years ago, when I was 16. Something MIRACULOUS acually happend and got me off that path. Meanwhile, I´m happy that I didn´t succed my suicidal adventure, and it is wrong to do, in this situation.

 

 

So what´s keeping me from doing it right now? The main reason is that I don´t want to cause pain to my parents, so I will wait for them to die and then follow them to the afterlife when the time is right. However, I do not have any reservations about causing pain to my younger sister who will be my closest relative after my parents are gone. She has a boyfriend, a house, a job and very likely in the future children to whom I will be an uncle. She will be all right and get over losing me in no time at all.

 

 

What is keeping you from doing it, is your conscience (that shows there is still hope for you), your thoughts about the future, and the fact that YOU your self thinks it would be wrong to do, regarding your thoughts about your parents, and you are to become an uncle soon.

 

 

Now, if doctors know about my suicidal tendencies and have it in their medical histories, then what kind of a doctor would write me a clean bill of health without making a sidenote that this person might be suicidal as a warning to the police when they consider the gun permit?

 

Plus if you enter "shooting myself" into the Purpose of Gun ownership field in the application, do you think they will issue you a permit or a quick ticket back to the funny farm? :wallbash:

 

But of course you can always get a BB gun, those are available without permits and the modern models do pack enough punch to punch holes to a human carcass, just shoot for something vital like the heart or the aorta and you´re done. See, I have everything planned out already, should that be a warning signal?

 

But as it is, my parents will most likely be around for another 20 years, so I will have plenty of time to prepare for the exit and many sleepless nights thinking about it.

 

This is all rubbish! What do you need a gun for. If you really want do die, go ahead jump from 10 store building, thats all it takes.

 

 

So, to make matters worse, I´m somewhat curious as to what awaits us beyond death. Each religion has its own version of an afterlife. The atheist version is the most scary one, they believe that there is NOTHING beyond death. That we simply cease to exist, all that we were, personality, memories, everything is just GONE. Personally I choose to believe in some kind of an afterlife rather than just total oblivion.

 

Don´t make flirtations with Death. I did that too. I am from the time of the hippies. Inspired by Jim Morrison from The Doors, I went seaking for answers in the unknown. IT IS SICK. And it will make you more sick. You will find only darkness and more darkness on that road.

 

 

 

After my parents are gone I don´t see any reason to stop myself from ending my earthly existence, if you see any good reasons why I should carry on then here´s your chance to pitch in.

 

I was there, where you are now. I thought I should never get out, except by killing my self. I gave up many times, but for each time I grew a little stronger, and found a little more light in the darkness. I came to a point where I could say "not yet", "I stay here". To day I still see some of the darkness once in a while, but it doesn´t bother me any more. I have a life. I can now say "No way" "I stay and fight" Even though I have tried many times my self, it is wrong to do in this situation. Believe me you can change it, and live with your mental state, in what ever form it is. You can get a life.

[Flintlockecole]

Myself being as depressed as I am, I've always had the thought of suicide but the general hope for a better day keeps me away from straying down too deep in that dark path. Personally, if your going to make your brains into a Picasso on a wall or something go for it, I nor anyone else has the right to say otherwise on what your belief of life is and how it should end whether you die heroically in defense of whatever or in a gutter in some scuzzy place. Edited July 29, 2011 by Flintlockecole

[Lisnpuppy]

I learned in therapy...that most of those of us that have had these...devistating thoughts....well we make the assumption that being dead would be better than where were currently are.

 

How do we know? We don't...we can speculate until the cows come home but we do not know. However I am reasonably certain with time and a lot of work..I can make my life better in almost every way that it is now....and not a single thing has to actually change in my life. Its all about how you look at it and how you choose to act about it.

 

I am not saying I still don't think....well lets call it "stinking thinking"....that tripe that plays endlessly in your head that always seems to bring you down...trip you up? I have it all the time. But I work through it. I try to think of how I can change where I am...do I need to actually change my circumstance? My behavior? Or just my outlook?

 

I have spent a great deal of time with my "stinking thinking" and waiting for some outside thing to make me happy. Sure, all that outside stuff makes it easier sometimes...but not always. The times in my life I have been happy...nay...content...has all been from me.

 

I realize this is a bit off topic but I felt compelled to say this.

 

Maybe there are some folks whose pain just clouds everything always...I can not judge and will not. However I will always fight this...I refuse to give in and let that stinking thinking win. There will be better...heck there will be worse. No one said life was easy or always fun..its a journey..a learning experience....it will end soon enough without me pushing it along.

[Keanumoreira]

Well, Keanu, the original question was whether or not suicide was wrong. No question was asked about whether or not you had some assistance with the deed. Your post was interesting and enlightening, and well taken from your perspective.

 

However, although I do not feel that I can make that sort of decision for anyone else, from my perspective suicide would be a poor choice. Not necessarily "right" or "wrong". There are just way too many variables in the lives of each of us. And the processes that go into the making of that kind of decision cannot be weighed by anyone else. Personally, I would not consider it for many reasons, not the least of which is somewhat spiritual.

 

Point taken Granny, thank you.

[draconix]

It would be pretty tough to debate this without bringing religion into the discussion.

I'll just say that suicide is pretty dumb considering that in death, there will be no relief for people who believe or disbelieve in an afterlife. For those who do, there is of course some penalty to be paid for breaking the rules. For those who don't, you'll simply cease to feel anything, including relief.

[HeyYou]

It would be pretty tough to debate this without bringing religion into the discussion.

I'll just say that suicide is pretty dumb considering that in death, there will be no relief for people who believe or disbelieve in an afterlife. For those who do, there is of course some penalty to be paid for breaking the rules. For those who don't, you'll simply cease to feel anything, including relief

 

How about someone that feeling nothing would BE relief? I get to look forward to constant pain, controlled with ever more powerful drugs...... what's the difference between being drugged senseless, as that is the only way to to relieve the pain, and being dead, where there is no pain?

[Aurielius]

It would be pretty tough to debate this without bringing religion into the discussion.

I'll just say that suicide is pretty dumb considering that in death, there will be no relief for people who believe or disbelieve in an afterlife. For those who do, there is of course some penalty to be paid for breaking the rules. For those who don't, you'll simply cease to feel anything, including relief

 

How about someone that feeling nothing would BE relief? I get to look forward to constant pain, controlled with ever more powerful drugs...... what's the difference between being drugged senseless, as that is the only way to to relieve the pain, and being dead, where there is no pain?

Since I am aware of your condition it would presumptuous in the extreme to judge your view without walking in your shoes. I personally think that consciousness is one of the definitions of being alive, being alive as a vegetable is not something I would like to endure.

[BlackBaron2]

It's not a binary issue--I'd say it's OK sometimes but not in all situations.

 

If it's because you're terminally ill and will soon be too sick to take care of yourself in any way, then I don't have an issue with it if you feel you'd rather die before you become completely helpless. However, if you're suffering from a treatable condition and won't be constantly suffering, especially if you've got people relying on you, I think it would be bad and that a person in this situation would be doing everyone a favour if ze decided to seek help for hir problems instead of dying.

[Jopo1980]

Very moving words in defense of life. Life is precious, I agree and you only have one of it, unless you believe in reincarnation, past lives and all that, which begs the question: If we have past lives then why don´t we remember anything from them? If the purpose of life is to learn something then wouldn´t that learning be more efficient if you had the advantage of all the memories of your past lives?

 

I approach the thought of an afterlife somewhat scientifically. While we do not have any empirical proof of an afterlife, we do have subjective reports of those who have died and have been revived, the so called Near-Death Experiences. These reports make for some very interesting reading. Here´s a website for the Near Death Experience Research Foundation: http://www.nderf.org/ and here´s the archive page: http://www.nderf.org/NDERF_NDEs.htm

These NDEs differ somewhat from person to person, but there are similarities and common elements, such as being out of your body, a tunnel, bright light which is sometimes described as being full of love, beings of light, a review of your life´s events sometimes shared by other beings, being told by some beings that you must go back and a reluctance to leave that place, etc. etc.

 

These reports are the best evidence of an afterlife so far in my opinion, but this evidence is of questionable value since the medical science is quick to point out that these experiences might be hallucinatory caused by the lack of oxygen to the brain during clinical death.

 

Whether you choose to believe this evidence of an afterlife is everyones own business, but it does paint a positive image of a life after death. I for one am somewhat curious to find out what lies beyond the great border.

 

Whether I will eventually end my own life or not depends on a set number of conditions and only time will tell what my destiny will eventually be. It is necessary to say that I would like to live a long and happy life on this earth, maybe have a family, a house etc. etc. I do not see why an unhappy life should be continued if there is no foreseeable hope of improvement.

 

Some will be quick to point out that there is always hope of improvement and odds might not be so bleak as they seem to be and they are right, only rarely is there no hope, it is only a question of propabilities, how likely is the situation to improve and how do you like the odds?

 

The world is full of miracle stories, people who have turned their lives around from the bleakest of odds. How likely was Finland to stand against the might of the Soviet war machine in the winter of 1939? Yet we did it, we beat the Soviets to a standstill and gave ourselves room to negotiate a peace settlement, although the peace came at a steep price, an unfair settlement to an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation.

Another miracle story was of a woman who had cancer and was told she had only hours or days to live. She experienced an NDE and was told by beings of light that she had to go back to complete her mission in life and was also told that she would be completely cured. She woke up and later her cancer tests showed that the cancer had completely vanished.

 

Whether I will be able to create my own miracle and raise from my ignominious existence into something worthwhile will be seen in time, but I see that there are only two paths, death or happiness, I hope it will be happiness.