What are your views on suicide?

Question

No matter what your religion... what do you think about it? Is it right, is it wrong, is it selfish?

My mother overdosed on pills last night. Call it fate, but my brother found her just in time and called 911 while my stepfather did CPR. They revived her and now she is hospitalized, physically all right but who knows what emotionally. She had just been over that afternoon to visit with my kids and other brother's kids. How strange... at 5:00 she was laughing and playing Nintendo with her grandkids, and then at 7:00 she was killing herself. Everyone says it was a long time coming, as she has been stuck in a viscious fight with my 24 y/o sister for 6 months now.

What a friggin' circus! OK people, I need some kind of cheering up or something. Will life in our family ever be the same again?

And if you're Pagan/Wiccan... I'd really like to hear your thoughts especially...

Raxivar - thanks for the detailed instruction manual. To quote my stepfather, "I would never kill myself; I'd rather stay here and make someone else miserable." What on earth were you thinking, posting suicide suggestions on a public forum??!!

Answer 1

First of all, I'm very sorry about your mother.

Honestly, I see suicide as any one's right. If they feel like they want to die, they should be able to if they want to.

However, this is life. One should enjoy it as best as they can, because it's the only time they'll feel this kind of existence.

Again, I'm very Sorry

Answer 2

I'm agnostic just incase you want to know. Suicide is something that most people think about from time to time, but only a few people attempt and even fewer people succeed. Is suicide right or wrong or selfish? No.

Sometimes it's an impulse control problem. One moment you're fine and the next your stuffing pills down your throat and 20 minutes you're inducing vomitting or maybe you didn't live that long.

Sometimes it's a result of a lot of physical or emotional stress or stress. It can lead to depression and part of depression is hopelessness. People start to think and feel like the world would be better off without them. You see, when one is depressed, her friends and family becomes worried and sometimes brought down too. So, is it selfish? Maybe to a clearer thinking mind, but someone who is in a suicidal state may see suicide as something that is selfless.

Her actions are really not that strange, although I'm sure you feel quite shocked. Suicide can happen at any moment. People with depression or other hurt do not always behave like they are 'down' and can often laugh and seemingly have fun.

Hopefully, you do not fall into blaming your sister for your mothers actions. While I don't know the details of the fight and certainly don't want to choose sides, you have to realise that your mothers suicide attempt was her responsibility. It may have been triggered by outside stress, but many many people have such problems and do not commit suicide.

Life in your family may never be the same again, but it could become better. I know sounds strange. I know someone very well who attempted suicide multiple times as a teenager (actually succeeded once while in the psychiatric ward, but was revived) and is now closer to his parents than ever before and you'd never be able to guess what they've been through. It may be turbulent times ahead, but offer support and please, no matter what she did do not blame your sister! This was a choice your mother made and no one elses.

Treat suicide and possible psychiatric illness the same as any other serious illness. It doesn't have to tear your family apart. You may also want to consider short term counselling to help you understand your mothers actions, whatever her diagnoses and treatment plan may be and help you figure out what to do now. The hospital that your mother is staying at might provide you with services or a refferal. Good luck!

Answer 3

Well I think it really depends on the motive for taking your own life. It is completely honorable to commit suicide if you're terminally ill or have been captured by the enemy (like if you were a soldier in war). Even if someone is depressed and takes their own life I wouldn't hold it against them and I don't think the Gods would either. I do not believe that suicides are punished in the afterlife. It's their life, if they want to end it (for whatever reason) then it is completely up to them.

I have never known a person to try to commit suicide or who committed suicide just to be selfish. Often its because the person is in a lot of pain either emotional or physical and cannot cope.

BTW, I am an Ásatrúar.

Answer 4

I don't think that suicide is selfish. On the contrary, my heart really goes out to people who are brought up to that stage in life, because it is hard to imagine how hard things might have gotten for them, that they would want to end their life.

What your mother needs right now is unlimited support and love, apart from hints of how terribly hurt you were that she tried to go away from you (this should be done very carefully - she shouldn't be made to feel guilty about it)

I am sure life in your family will be the same again. Remember that nothing in life is permanent - neither joy, nor sorrow. This too shall pass.

If possible, try to gently turn her towards spirituality - people with a spiritual outlook in life are known to be more emotionally stable.
All the best and may God be with you. Just keep the faith!

Answer 5

I believe that suicide happens when people see no other soolution. It happens to the mentally ill usually, but can also happen to mentally healthy people as well. I'm going to get lots of thumbs-downs for saying this, but I think that sometimes, SOMETIMES suicide is a necessary choice to make. I am a Pagan and I believe in rebirth, and I also committed suicide in one of my past lives. I am paying for it in this life, not terribly, but I do get the karma from it. It's just something I have to live with, and I still have a happy life. But suicide should always be the last resort.

I hope your mother gets better. She has a family who loves her and I think she should think about her family and get some professional help.

Blessed Be.

Answer 6

it ought to often times be very not person-friendly to be self detrimental - rather some human beings bypass to tremendous lengths to push away associates and family members, for instance, even at the same time as they're lonely or throw away pastime opportunities. it would purely take a good volume of will to actual *pick* that self-destruction if it were something that you've been particularly understanding of. It doesn't take any type of bravery in case you do not realize the outcomes, the strengths of the alternative and so on and typically the human beings who suicide at the prompt are not interior the concepts set to have that understanding ... Do you actually imagine someone who's depressed or abused or is in severe actual discomfort is going to be making the clearest determination? issues handle an exceedingly distinct mild at the same time as something is making you experience that way. lack of life is an exceedingly visceral perplexing experience in maximum circumstances and that is under no circumstances as short as human beings imagine it will be. Ask those who've had seizures, strokes or heart attacks, it appears like it is going on invariably. the project is, you get those who romanticise it of their heads and word lack of life as something it isn't and this can provide them a force to die it particularly is more suitable about an phantasm than any act of will. if so, suicide is purely giving right into a romanticised phantasm for those in an exceedingly undesirable situation and dumping each little thing else round you for reported phantasm. no longer cool. if truth be told - it theoretically *ought to* take some ability to commit suicide even though it under no circumstances does as a results of circumstances in touch.

Answer 7

I am an Atheist. It is true that a person who tries to kill themselves often thinks that they cannot cope with life or that they are not of value. She may very well feel like a terrible person for trying this. She may have felt like her family would be better off without her. Has something happened that she would wonder whether or not she was a good mother? It was probably something she was thinking about for a while. You need to remember that she was emotionally in pain. I hope things get better. Try not to be too angry with her. Just love her.

Answer 8

Yes, I think suicide is wrong, even if you have a horrible life, you shouldnt try to kill yourself...I mean everyone gets depressed some time in their lives and suicide is just an easy way out. I really hope your mother will get better and want to live to see her grand children grow.

I think in the long run your family will be fine, just try to make your moms life a little easier and make your sister not fight with her as much. She'll probably have to see a psychiatrist, and hopefully everything with turn out fine.

Answer 9

Eos told me once in a vision that we are all here to learn, to gain knowledge and experience certain things. If we can't handle it and choose to end this life before we've acheived this purpose and learned the lesson we're here to learn, well, guess what? We get to do it again, so you might as well get it over with now.

Suicide is selfish. It is giving up. Dead people don't suffer, living people do. But your life is your life. It should be the individual's decision what to do with it, not their family's or anyone else's, but when we have responsibilities, sometimes we have to do the responsible thing and bite the bullet and just deal with it until the fates cut the thread. But in the case of people who are dying and lingering, I think it's horrible that they are forced to hold on.

Most people, however, don't really want to die. They want people to notice that a situation is unbearable and help to change it. They don't consciously say "I'm going to attempt suicide, that'll show em, that'll get em to pay attention to this situation and fix it." But deep down, that's what's going on. Your family really needs to focus on the situations that led to this issue.

I know a woman who killed herself, and I don't fault her for it, she was determined that she was done. Her son was done with college, she was a single mom, she felt she had done all she needed in this life. Her son wasn't ready for her to go. And I will always feel guilty for insisting that no, her cookie recipe wasn't better than mine- though I'm certain she didn't do it over a cookie recipe.

Answer 10

I hope your mom pulls through ok. I wish the someone I lost had...

It's never the right choice, though I don't think victims should be blamed and called selfish. Most who do that don't really want to end their lives, but what they are dealing with just seems so overwhelming to them that they just know no other way out. And I hate religion's harsh view. It is so mean to the victims, and so hurtful to those that are dealing with the loss...

I could never blame mine for what he did and I can't put myself in the place of the victim saying "he did this to me," because he, like any other real victim of it, deserves love, not blame. It's not his fault...life just is that way sometimes. I just wish he didn't give up and didn't make that choice. <3

See that your mom gets the help and support from you all that she needs to get back on track.

Answer 11

Whoa. I'm really sorry to hear about your mother.

Now then, about suicide (and suicide attempts). I think that it is a very hard situation for a person's family to have to go through. My cousin's mom committed suicide a few years ago and it was extremely upsetting for everyone, especially my cousin.

Many people claim that suicide is selfish, but I don't think that it is appropriate for them to say this since they haven't been in the other person's shoes. The person attempting suicide is probably dealing with some serious emotional problems and it must be hard for them to come to this decision.

Best wishes to you and your family, and I hope that your sister and mom work out their problems peacefully.