Do you consider suicide selfish?

Question

Please leave your reasons. I am bored and am ready for a good debate.

I personally believe it is not. It is the end of a serious mental illness. It happens when someone is in so much pain, they feel incredibly hopeless.

Please leave your opinions. Thank you:)
Best answer goes to whoever argues their point best, no matter if I agree with them or not.

You are right about saying it is not fair to the people they leave behind.

I definately agree that it is extremely selfish to commit suicide to get out of jail. If you murdered someone, then yes, you deserve the punishment.

clarice_irene, I am not considering killing myself. I asked this question because I knew it was a good debate.

Answer 1

no it not selfish just plain stupid and wrong why risk going to hell

Answer 2

I don't think that it is necessarily selfish just unfortunate that life has just been that horrible for that person. It is hard to say what drives a person to suicide but it is not surprising. I think suicide should be a indicator for society to figure out what we are doing wrong rather then criticizing the person who did commit suicide. What drives a person to take their OWN life? What can we do as human beings to stop this? There are already enough, actually too many deaths in the world. So, I feel that it isn't about being selfish or anything like that. It is just unfortunate, horrible, sad... it makes human beings as a whole uncaring and pathetic... seriously, a human life is taken by his own hand because he or she was constantly bullied.... And I know that that isn't the case all the time but it's one of them. Some people commit suicide because of love... overall, it is just baffling and I think that humans should evaluate the choices they make in life and how it really affects others.
-Tubby

Answer 3

It certainly FEELS like a selfish act to those who are left behind.
Having had a family member do that, I know that the pain they cause in the ones that are left is incredible, and they may not ever heal fully. They will forever ask the question - "WHY?"
The hardest thing to deal with is the fact that they CHOOSE to die, to leave in a very permanent way, and often without warning. Not only are the family dealing with a death, they are often dealing with self inflicted violence, sometimes horrifically.
They are left asking themselves WHY? What could I have done differently? Did I do this to them? If I did ....whatever... would they be alive today? Could I have helped them? Why didn't they just GO rather than die? Am I not worth staying around for? Being with? And perhaps scariest of all "Will I do the same thing?"

I do believe that for most who do it, suicide is a last resort. They can see no light in the future, no joy in their life, and quite often feel that no one would miss them if they were gone. Some get to the stage where they do believe that the ones they love would be better off with them gone. The saddest thing is THEY ARE WRONG.
They will be missed, they were loved, and there are people who will go on asking WHY?

Answer 4

No, it's not selfish. Generally, people don't understand this unless they've been suicidal themselves at some point. When you are suicidal, you are in severe pain and hate yourself (and are convinced that everyone else will be better off without you). It's like telling someone who is in extreme physical pain after an accident and is on life support that they are being selfish because they want to pull the plug. Maybe it's the people that are NOT in pain that are selfish because they don't want to deal with the pain of letting go of the person in severe mental and/or physical pain? So yes, I agree with you!

Answer 5

Yes, suicide is the most selfish thing a person can do. Most mental health conditions can be helped with the help others. I deal with depression myself, and I at times things do seem hopeless. But I know that when I am feeling this way, I need to ask for help with it.
I know that if I ended it all, I would be leaving two children behind. Now, how fair is that for these children? I bring them into this world, then decide that I want to take their mother away from them. Is that not selfish?

Answer 6

I have read through a lot of the responses and the most common answer is that it is selfish due to the trauma it causes the people left behind. But what needs to be taken into consideration is that the person who deems suicide an option is not going to have the logic of thinking to feel or shed thought into what's going to happen when he or she is gone. That's the point. If someone is willing to end his or her own life, they feel nothing is left. So they're not doing it for themselves (a blatantly selfish act), yet they're also not caring what happens to the people they leave behind (which can be considered selfish). Therefore, I find suicide neither selfish nor unselfish. It's simply an act that is done when the state of mind has reached it's "nothing" point.

Answer 7

Yes.
But wrong for me to judge. I've been trough a bad depression when I was only 16 and I can understand the void our life may feel.
I also believe that we can beat it and be "selfish" enough to say to the world

"ok, it's about me now.
I will love myself the best I can, and respect the life god - any god you believe in or nature if you don't - has given me.
I need no pills or counselling. Maybe one good friend and a cigarette or a beer sometimes.
IT'S MY TIME TO LIVE."

Answer 8

I cannot debate this answer because I agree totally.Suicide is the last act of a desperate hopelessly sad and depressed person.Someone who feels their life is over emotionally ,and cannot or does not have the strength or capacity to go on.When one is ready to give up life itself , they could not possibly be able to think of staying on earth for anyone else because they feel they are just causing pain or are useless in their efforts to pull out of it and feel they would be less trouble if they were gone. Some are just too tired, in too much pain or are too desperately lonely to go on. It does seem selfish to those left behind because they cannot possibly feel the pain the person is going through.It takes real compassion to see the choice to live or die is ultimately ours , and not to judge.Of course if one can help another in this state , they can do all in their power to let the person know their worth, and how each persons journey on earth is important, as we influence even those we do not know , However, it is out of our hands the final decision. But if you are thinking of suicide, let me assure you,you will feel different as nothing stays the same, good or bad.We are all so special in our own way, unique and a gift to the world.Allow others to help you and be a gift to their life.All are loved and needed by someone, maybe that some one is waiting to meet you and needs your help?

Answer 9

To an extent, yes. A person who commits suicide is putting an end to their own problems and leaving everyone else to deal with the loss. But so what? It's the suicidal person's life in question, so it's their decision to make. It's even more selfish of other people to keep that person from committing suicide if they choose to. It's not the suicidal person's responsibility to maintain the happiness of everyone around them at the expense of their own.

Answer 10

Yes, I think that it is a selfish thing to do...you may end your pain but how much are you leaving behind? I guess if you don't care enough about yourself , you aren't going to care about others either. The living left behind have to deal with an enormous amount of loss, pain and usually guilt "Why didn't I see this coming" "Why didn't I do something different?"

And on a religious level I believe it is an unpardonable sin. I'm Baptist and they believe that the only "unpardonable" sin is not acknowledging Christ as your Saviour....I think if you kill yourself you are denying that God can give you the strenght to get through the bad things in your life therefore denying God's existence. (that's my take...not Baptist doctorine).

Answer 11

This is a challenging question. On one hand, I see your point..and, agree. Suicide is a desperate final act to end the emotional pain of the person who, ultimately, takes his/her own life.

On the other hand, the person who commits suicide is so consumed with ending their own emotional pain that he/she cares more about "self" than about others (and their resulting pain).

Many suicidal people have talked themselves out of their suicidal ideations when they think about the effect their actions will have on those closest to them. This is not to say that all suffering persons are capable of such rational thinking, but it is reasonable to think that some level of thought goes into how those closest will respond, isn't it?

Although the person who commits suicide is so consumed with pain that they see no other way "out" and, in their desperation, the act may not appear selfish. Upon further reflection, considering the impact on others, it is a selfish act committed by a person who no longer had the ability to cope and whom compassion should still be granted.