Why do people want to commit suicide (kill themselves)? Isn't it a bad and sad thing?

Question

There was a particular question that I viewed, and I think it had 34 responses or so. The person asked if he sould attempt suicide. Some encouraged him not to - and the majority of the rest encouraged him to go ahead and kill himself with the knife. From the posting of that question - its a sad and scary posibility that he might have killed himself, and, based on belief, gone to... you kno. Why do people want to kill themselves? Is it worth it? Whats the consequences? How would you encourage someone who is going through their chronicles of misery and pain, wanting to exit the earth without due time? All answers welcome. And people, for those out their, this is a question of concern. No profanity. Thanks.

Answer 1

The problem with most of society is that they do not realize that suicide is not away of getting attention. When a person talks about suicide I can guarantee that they will eventualy try and will often times succeed. Suicides are always done in private and when it is time, love ones never know untill it is to late.

People commit suicide because of the incredible emotional and sometimes physical pains that they experience.

Some say that our Gothic and emo children are sad and depressed and talk about suicide because they wan attention, but many do not realize that severe depression affects many different kinds of people. I affects all races, all sexuses, all ages, it affects the very wealthy as well as the very poor.

Many people who do not understand depression are quick to insult and put down those of us that are truly sad. Depression is an illness of the brain that affects the seritonin levels within the brain. These people do not want to be this way but the brain has the inability to make the chemicles in the brain needed to control their emotions.

I live in Orange County Ca (like the tv show), I have an SUV and a sports car, I have a beautiful wife and daughter, and live a very good life. I say all this because I suffer from depression in a horrible way and have attempted suicide 3 times nearly succeeding on the third attempt. Just like a diabetic I am required to take medicines and I have therapy very often to insure I stay alive.

People who talk about suicide need to be taken very seriously even if they talk about it all the time. These people do not understand why they feel this way and know that this is not a normal thing to feel.

These people are often blown off because a societies ignorance to this problem. It has been very difficult for my family, especially my wife. She thaught as did my friends that I was just being weird untill I was put in the hospital. My family did some research and now understand this condition.

Just one more thing, a person who attempts and/or succeds suicide is not weak or unbrave at all. I say this because any person not afflicted with depression have a fear of death. I do not fear death and for me attempting suicide or even thinking about it, is as easy as washing my hands.

Don't cast these people aside, take them very seriously, you may save a life.

Answer 2

As terrible a thing as suicide is, sometimes a person is in a situation or a point in their life that they pereceive as being so much worse than suicide. For them, at that moment, it seems the lesser of two evils. What they don't understand, or have the ability to see is that things will always get better. No....it's NOT worth it. Life has so many ups and downs, and twists and turns that none of us know what is ahead for us. God has every one of us on this earth for a reason, and He only takes us back when we've fullfilled his plan for us. If one ditches it all when things look the bleakest, they will never know how good things could have become around the next corner.
Consequences? Suicide IS a sin, and against the word of God.
If I was faced with trying to talk someone down from a suicide attempt I would tell them all of the above. I would tell them that God loves them, and will take care of them, as long as put their trust in Him. I would tell them that I love them because they are a Child of God.

My experience is that people who are realy bent on suicide will not ask for help, they will not ask for someone elses opinion, they will just DO it. People who ask for help or in some way indicate they "may" do this, are really crying out for help and are really wanting someone to stop them.

Many people in this forum seem to ask questions for "effect", and many people answer that way as well. But anybody who would "encourage" an attempt such as that ought to be SMACKED! They might have thought it was a joke, but some people's sense of humor is just plain sick!

Answer 3

There are many reasons for suicide ... it is usually a combination of two or more of the following: fatal illness, tough times that seem to never end, desperation, depression, isolation, helplessness, loss of hope, and getting caught up in a moment.

I used to think the same way you did ... how could anyone possibly want to kill themselves? Then there were two moments in my life where I seriously considered it ... but only very briefly. What pulled me out of it: the first time -- the notion of how much worse it would be for my family and friends; the second time -- hope, and the notion that the solution I so desperately needed for my problem was out there, but it would take time and perseverence. I knew I was looking for a needle in a haystack, so I reached out for help ... and got lots of it. I also had a desire to see how my life would turn out, because I thought (and still do) I have a good life with great potential.

Shortly after the second time, I read a quirky, sweet, and humorous book by Nick Hornby called "A Long Way Down" that helped take the edge off the notion that at one point I had wanted to end my life. It's a novel, but a good read.

Answer 4

I have seen some of the responses too, and I am cluless of how some people can be so heartless!
Are they really that evil, that they encourage suicide? Very immature and careless!
I was very suicidal in my past, and have atempted to take my life several times. My dad was very abusive, and When I was a teen, I thought that the only way that I could get away from him, was to die. I was hospitalized all throughout my teen years, and was drugged up on all the psyche meds that the doctors tell you that you need , for this "disorder" and that "disorder". The doctors told me that I was bipolar among many other diognostics, but yet they would ignore the facts that I was raped, and molested, and abused mentally and phisically for years.
The doctors seemed to think they knew what was wrong, but I already told them, and that didn't matter, it had to be a "chemical imbalance" to them, and they were wrong.
I was hospitalized in intensive care for several months after my last suicide attempt years ago, and the doctors said that it was a mirical how I survived, and they shook thier heads in dis belief that I could have survived what I did to myself. The Lord wanted me to live, and He wanted me to know my Lord Jesus Christ, whom I serve now.
Back then I was hopeless, and I had no love in my heart and life. A person who is suicidal cannot see past thier pain. They cannot see that there is any hope for their present situation.
When I was suicidal I diddn't think as far, to know what I know now. I never knew that I would have a wonderful marriage, beautiful children, and church family, and most importantly, a relationship with my Lord, Jesus Christ.
I would welcome anyone to come over to my blog, and read my suicide posts, and thier are also help phone numbers, and many testimonies from others who have survived suicide. Thank You for your question!
Love in Christ, Sabrina

Answer 5

I think people who want to commit suicide, want to run away from something. Maybe to run away from loneliness or a low self confidence.

Sometimes it may be a way of punishing people in their lives for not caring.

And sometimes they try to get help by talking about suicide, and then people encourage them to go ahead and do it because those people don't believe that they would actually do it.

edit: SadistDave made an interesting argument, but there is a difference between suicide and martyrdom. When you allow yourself to die so that someone else will live, it is not suicide. The Bible says "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends"

Answer 6

I think it is usually a result of mental illness. Literally and figuratively. Rarely in your right mind would one decide as such. The biggest exceptions would be terminal illness (other than mental), POW, etc.

I used to have great distaste for anyone who was suicidal. Who are they to take the easy way out? I thought 'fine - rid us from your pathetic quitter's existence'. But now I realize that it is more due to an unstable mentality.

I realized this when I committed a close friend to the psychiatric ward for suicidal attempts. I KNEW her. She hated suicidals. But she tried it herself. I now understand that she no longer had logic.

She was ill.

Since then she has (for the most part) regained her logic. She has thanked me many times for saving her life (it wasn't me really, more the doctors) proving that her mental facilities were altered.

My best advice to any suicidal: YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT WILL COME TOMORROW. Maybe another crappy day. Maybe something great. Sure, the probability may lie with a crappy day, but the point is that it is uknown.

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science"
-Albert Einstein

Answer 7

There are a few different reasons why people want to commit suicide or make threats. There's wanting attention, depression, hopelessness and anything that feels like its trapping you.

Consequences depend on your spirituality. If you're Christian, Judiastic, or Islamic, you go to hell. As a buddist, the death doesn't matter, you might be reborn on what area you get your religion from. But the consequences aren't what bother the person in tumoil, it's why they would brave them.

The best way to deal with someone who is threatening to do it is to listen. Admitedly, it doesn't mean they'll stop, but if a father has just lost everything and can't pay for his son's college, he's going to atleast take solace in the fact that you listened to him.

With a teen, the usual reason why we commit suicide is the inability to get human contact. We have problems at home, our friends abandoned us, we don't see a future, we want someone to look our way, we want to leave an impression on the world ("If I'm gone, then they'll realize..") The best way to handle it is to truely care. Let yourself cry when you talk to them. Don't threaten us. Don't mock our troubles. Don't belittle us. We may be young, but we do know more than you think, we just don't alwasy have the exerience to be able to put the knowledge to use.

When we talk, listen. Not to our voice, but to the reason. Why are we in so much pain? Did her boyfriend just break up with her? Did he fail a test and he knows his father won't approve? Did the kid's parent's fight last night? When you listen, you hear something more than "It's time for me to die." Listen for it and care. It's what we need the most.

Answer 8

I would NEVER encourage someone to commit suicide. However, I would never discourage someone who is intent on committing suicide either. The reason is simple (for me). When a person has reached a point where they are mentally, physically and spiritually exhausted, they do not need to be burdened with guilt over their choice. Life is hard and the answer is not as simple as "think positive," "just pray," "have more faith," and so on. I resent that people will tell a suicidal person "what about the people who love you?" What if the person is not loved by anyone? What if their family has completely rejected them? It is an empty statement that can hurt tremendously. I have been on the receiving end of phone calls and emails from people are suicidal. My goal is and has always been to be there for them, to listen, to help brainstorm solutions (if they want) or to just remind them that I care. It is not my life and it is not my death. I absolutely refuse to make someone's final moments about my judgment of what they are doing. It must be hard enough to be in that position. I certainly don't want to make it worse.

P.S. I also feel this way about people who are terminally ill. I have acted as Power of Attorney for Health for people who expressed a wish to not be resuscitated. While I do not agree with that choice, I have always honored the person's wishes. It is not about my feelings, but about my loyalty to the person who trusts me to make the decisions they are unable to facilitate in those difficult hours. I uphold that honor with the utmost respect for everyone's right to live and die how they choose.

Answer 9

Suicide has been described as a permenant solution to a temporary problem. People who want to kill themselves don't see any other way out. They see themselves as worthless. The believe they don't deserve life. They only see the problems that led them to that point. They think that the world would be better without them there to mess things up. They don't realize that everyone contributes to the good of the world. They don't see the things that they've already done to improve the world. .... Sorry. Getting kinda preachy. Basically, they don't see far enough to know that it's not worth suicide.

Answer 10

~~you are right it is a sad thing that anyone would encourage someone in a vulnerable state to go ahead and off themselves. I am a crisis intervention counselor and In crisis counseling training the first thing you are taught is to ALWAYS take the person seriously. the majority of those who are saying they are going to commit suicide or asking if they should, are looking for help and are not really wanting to off themselves, but in the frame of mind that they are in, encourageing them to go for it, may just push them over the edge. this was a very good observation you made and i commend you for standing up for this person and posting your question. i hope you had a chance to answer that person and encourage them. if you are still looking for a profession to go into, might i suggest something in the counseling or psych field. this field needs more people with heart.~~

***NOTE TO: xxxc0c0puffzxxx Re: your statement... First off no one took that person seriously. If you really wanted to kill yourself you would not have the rational mind to sit down at a computer and type out a long paragraph about killing yourself. ... people in a rational state of mind DO NOT talk about killing themselves. again, many of them are looking for help, looking for a sign that someone, anyone cares, and want help. they are desperate for help and may just as a last resourt hit the internet for help. Anyone who is threatening suicide needs to be taken seriously. this could be a life at risk.***