Psychology homework question?

Question

I have a homework question for my psychology class. It is asking me whether it is normal for people to have alot of suicidal thoughts and if so, what to the extent of it is not normal etc...wouldn't having suicidal thoughts NOT be normal? crazy psych class...

Answer 1

Sometimes life gets to hard, to spooky, too busy, too stressing that i think that all that responsability makes you once in a very long while, make you wish run away from life.

Answer 2

This is important: if you are not really asking this as a hypothetical question, you MUST talk to someone about it right away. Either way, though, it is not "normal" to have "alot of suicidal thoughts." Everyone thinks about death sometimes, either their own or that of other people, but particularly if someone actually formulates a plan as to how he or she could/would carry out the act of suicide, that is a critical situation. If you are in a situation where someone tells you they are thinking about committing suicide, and especially if they have a plan (for example, says I've saved up enough sleeping pills or I have a gun), tell them you will help them to find other options. Ask them if they trust you, and tell them if they do that they have to trust that you will help them and that you are right when you say there are other options than suicide. Have the person PROMISE you not to follow through on their plan for 24 hours, while you seek help. NEVER promise to keep this problem a secret! For your class: suicidal thoughts are a sign of mental disturbance, at the very least, and need to be taken seriously. It is far better to be alarmed and bring others into the situation and then have a "false alarm" then the other way around. IF YOU ARE A PERSON CONSIDERING SUICIDE, call a friend, a family member, or a suicide hotline. On the surface, suicide seems so selfish, when a person seems to choose to "bow out" and leaves all that pain for those around him; however, in actuality, suicide is the result of mental illness, and in all cases, thoughts/talk of this should be taken as an emergency.

Answer 3

I would say it is NOT normal to have A LOT of suicidal thoughts. It is pretty normal to have a few. Everyone thinks about what it would be like if they died... they wonder what their family and friends would think, if life would be different for the rest of the world, ect. Also, it is pretty normal for example to think about jumping when you are standing at the really great height. But it is NOT normal to really consider these things. If someone is seriously considering suicide as a means of dealing with their feelings, it is abnormal and there is probably some kind of mental issue there. It crosses the line into "abnormal" once a person had decided that suicide is a reasonable option and thinking about it consumes their lives.

Answer 4

Sounds to me like your psych instructor is trying to get the class to think about suicide.

Is it normal to think about suicide. Yes, in a lifetime, most people will think about it at least once. Thinking about it is just that -- thinking about it.

To think about it from the standpoint of making a plan is when concern needs to begin.

Thinking about it "a lot" would indicate that some type of pain exists in a person's life, and they are considering that not living would be the best alternative. A wrong assumption, and it is the reason people choose it. They are experiencing such a level of pain that they have difficulty seeing a way out of their situation.

Answer 5

yes its abnormal... that's rough ground. i have thought about suicide and the impact it would have on those around me; not about doing it...

Answer 6

Oh for heaven's sake, no, it's not normal.