Suicide again

[S.A. Boggs]

Another person has taken their life, what a waste of self. Everyone deals with depression in the course of their life, some do it tragically as recently seen. Depression is a deep hole that is dug for us or we willing dig for self. Depression is induced because of an imbalance of chemicals in the brain or by situational that we are currently experiencing. There is help for those who suffer from this terrible illness, go seek help it is there for you. People mistakenly believe that ethanol will "cheer" a person up, i.e. the happy drunk, the reality is that ethanol is a depressant and does the reversal. Medication can and does help, so will counseling. I have a family member who use to get depressed in the winter due to a lack of light, since she now has installed the right type of light bulbs in her home her depression is now non-existent. I am one of the lucky ones who rarely get's depressed, when I do I find that it is situational in nature. I have a simple way to look at life, if I can't control it why worry and if I can control it what can I do about it. When I got cancer I never worried about dying, I know where I am going so what is the problem? My only concern was how the chemo/radiation would affect me and that was a bother. Having to wear a chemical pump directly connected into my chest was a worry. For your family sake, if you have depression issue contact a mental health facility for help, don't think that people will think you are "crazy", it is crazy not to get help.
Sam

[TomSudz]

Sam, from the Fire/EMS side, there does seem to be an uptick in suicides recently. I'm not sure what's causing it. Each case is equally sad and leaves us asking why they didn't seek help.

[blackhawknj]

I suspect drug use has a lot to do with it, having no spiritual or religious beliefs.
Conversely, I like to quote the words of KoKo, the Lord High Executioner in The Mikado:
"....there will be no difficulty in finding plenty of people whose loss will be a distinct gain to society at large."

[Dan Shapiro]

Is it a permanent uptick, or a "statistical anomaly"? Also consider that "suicide" covers a lot of ground. Hopeless drug addict, someone with an incurable but progressively degenerative disease, someone with a terminal and painful illness, some guy who just got a 'Dear John', or their girlfriend of 2 months just dumped them.

The world only seems to notice when a "successful" individual, with "everything to live for" decides to end their life.

They are all, equally sad.

[clintonhater]

Each case is equally sad and leaves us asking why they didn't seek help.

What kind of help? Suppose you're simply weary of living in poverty, constantly pinching pennies, etc.? Or suppose you're simply weary of living your life in a wheelchair, or tied to a resperator, or enduring some other severe physical limitation? You'd be satisfied with somebody holding your hand & telling you your life isn't as miserable as you think it is? Because that's the ONLY kind of "help" that realistically possible for many of life's most serious problems, & to believe otherwise is to ignore the hard facts of life.

[Vern Humphrey]

What kind of help? Suppose you're simply weary of living in poverty, constantly pinching pennies, etc.? Or suppose you're simply weary of living your life in a wheelchair, or tied to a resperator, or enduring some other severe physical limitation? You'd be satisfied with somebody holding your hand & telling you your life isn't as miserable as you think it is? Because that's the ONLY kind of "help" that realistically possible for many of life's most serious problems, & to believe otherwise is to ignore the hard facts of life.

But note that the two suicides, like Robin Williams', don't fit that "weary of living in poverty, constantly pinching pennies," or with severe physical limitations. These were healthy, successful people. By far the majority of people who commit suicide don't fall into those categories you list.

[Allen]

By far the majority of people who commit suicide don't fall into those categories you list.

Some people are just at the end of their rope.

[leftyo]

Some people are just at the end of their rope.

HA! LOL

[tmark]

Inside Edition mentioned a spike in suicides after Norma Jean's suicide in the early sixties. The psychologist on the show mentioned five or six reasons why people end their lives.

IE mentioned in 2016, 45,000 people ended their lives which is more than people killed in auto accidents that year.

[TomSudz]

What kind of help? Suppose you're simply weary of living in poverty, constantly pinching pennies, etc.? Or suppose you're simply weary of living your life in a wheelchair, or tied to a resperator, or enduring some other severe physical limitation? You'd be satisfied with somebody holding your hand & telling you your life isn't as miserable as you think it is? Because that's the ONLY kind of "help" that realistically possible for many of life's most serious problems, & to believe otherwise is to ignore the hard facts of life.

I've been a firefighter for 32 years. I don't need anybody to hold my hand, pat my head, or give me cookies, either. Probably the last thing I do need is an internet toughguy giving me a lesson on real life. Anytime somebody sees me, it's because they're having a bad day. And in some cases, the worst day of their life. I see every circumstance of human life. Maybe that's why I cherish it.

What leaves us asking why someone didn't get help are things like the 14 year old who put a Mosin-Nagant in his mouth and evacuated his cranial cavity, or the 26 year old mother who hung herself while the kids were at school- the week before Christmas, or the 55 year old guy who hung himself in his closet without saying a word to anybody. Why does a 19 year old put a shotgun to his chest on New Year's Eve (and you arrive to find his father- a man you've known your whole life- doing CPR and expecting him to live). How about a beautiful 19 year old girl who slashed her own throat or the 36 year old woman who tied a weight to her chest and went into the swimming pool. NONE of them had any of the problems you mention and NONE of them had any problem that couldn't have been solved another way, but NONE of them EVER asked for help.