re: What are your thoughts on people who commit suicide?

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It's probably the most selfish act a human can perform. It crushes those you leave behind. I have no sympathy for people who do it.

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People who say this are quick to change their tune when it's their kid, wife, sibling, or parent that commits suicide.

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More selfish than murder, killing someone while driving drunk or murder/suicide?

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Arguably, yes. Probably splitting hairs here but a regular old suicide has far more victims than the person who's actually killing themself.

Agree to disagree. It's always going to be a touchy subject with people. As others have said, it is absolutely miserable for all parties.

It's probably the most selfish act a human can perform. It crushes those you leave behind. I have no sympathy for people who do it.
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There's no doubt that the suicide of family member or close friend has a gigantic impact on those left behind. If you have no sympathy for the suicide victim, that probably makes it a bit easier to deal with. I congratulate you on your ability to disassociate yourself from the situation. I couldn't, and still can't, do it. Almost twenty-five years later, I still wonder if I could have done or said something different. I know I didn't cause it, but I sure wish I could have prevented it.

However, I take issue with your "most selfish act" comment. Suicide can certainly be viewed as a selfish act by those left behind. But isn't it just as selfish to expect a person to continue living in pain, just so you aren't inconvenieced by their death?

Fortunately, for a person like you, you'll never understand why a person commits suicide. My simplest explanation to those who've never experienced suicidal thoughts is that it's not so much of a question as to "Why?", but "Why not?"

Wake up every morning for years trying to decide "Why not?", and then you may gain a new perspective or what is or isn't selfish.

Awkward funerals

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So why do suicidal prevention methods help some and not others?

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Unfortunately, for some patients, medication for depression can take up to two months to get to high enough levels to be effective.

Prior to starting meds, lot of severely depressed patients don't have the energy or a clear enough thought process to carry out a suicide attempt.

Unfortunately, sometimes these medicines can give a severely depressed patient just enough clarity and motivation to carry out a suicide attempt while waiting for the meds to reach their full efficacy.

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SSRIs endow depressed people with a newfound alertness and proactivity. If someone was suicidal before taking an antidepressant, but unmotivated to act on their urge, the antidepressant only facilitated their latent desires; it didn’t create them. In both cases, a 2004 study argues that it’s within the first nine days of taking antidepressants a person is most at-risk for suicidal thoughts or behaviors.

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When a person’s depression starts to lift, he or she may feel less hopeless and helpless. That sounds like an improvement, but when people feel less helpless but still feel depressed, they may think about suicide as a way out, whereas before they were too immobilized to make a suicide plan. For that reason, a decrease in the symptoms of depression can increase the risk of suicidal thoughts or actions. That risk is well known by mental health specialists, and can occur regardless of the type of treatment that a patient is receiving, or even if the patient is feeling less depressed without any treatment.

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That's why it's so important to combine meds with counseling/therapy and for patients to have a strong support system around them. Just because your co-worker got "help" doesn't mean he was "cured".

Surviving depression is a long, long road.

One of my favorite people ever was driven to suicide by her husband. Just sad, really fricking sad.

I think it's the most selfish act a person can do.jmho

I have had 4 people that I graduated with commit suicide..... seems to be an easy way out... very selfish act especially when children are involved... it is my belief that some people just cant deal with the pressures of life

People that do this are in a dark place you can't comprehend, I would withhold judgment and be grateful you don't have to deal with those demons. Speaking of hell, didn't Paul write about being unsure whether he wanted to live or die?

Glass houses. Man