The topic on suicide has been a topic that people either rarely talked about, tried to avoid or somehow brought about a certain degree of discomfort. But for the matter of fact, in reality many have somehow chooses to intentionally terminating their own life, hence committing suicide. Those who has committed suicide comes from all walks of life for example Leslie Cheong (actor), John Reynolds (Actor), Alan Turing (British Mathematician & Computer Scientist), Tawfik Abu al-Huda Baja (Former PM of Jordan), poets, sportsman, world renown chemist and the list goes on. Equivalently as many is the type of suicidal method ranging from carbon monoxide poisoning, overdose, hanging, gunshot, jumping off buildings, wrists slitting and others.
The whole idea of death is abhorrent to us yet to me it is somewhat intriguing. Why do people commit suicide or even have suicidal thoughts or “suicidal ideation” in the first place? Is suicide the best option for people? Is there no other way to go about life and what life brings?
Many would condemn people who commit suicide because they generally don’t understand why this path is chosen. General trend of perception would be like
- Religion disapproves of suicide.
- Optimistic people would tell us that if you think positively you’ll be able to overcome anything in life.
- People who thought about committing suicide is just attention seeker or projecting some form of deviant behavior
- You are the source of your emotions. If a person wants to control their feeling they definitely can do so
- There’s so much to live for there’s no reason to end ones life
- Maybe it’s a mental problem and they should see a shrink
Contrary to what most people believe, suicidal thoughts are an involuntary affliction. Meaning people don’t choose to think or planned them. Suicidal thoughts just enter the mind. Hard to believe eh?
In reality, there are millions of people out there who wake each day thinking, hoping and wishing that they could be someone else or somewhere else. There’s just so much pain that people goes through daily. In most cases, people who think or commit suicide are people in great pain or difficult circumstances that they feel that their lives aren’t worth living anymore. It may also be due to major life transition like death, loss of job, end of relationship, and prolong sickness or a steady decline in the quality of their lives.
People who commit suicide often have overwhelmed feeling of helplessness; they are desperate and hurt; they think that something is wrong with them and often blame themselves for whatever things that happens in their life. The more they blame themselves, the less worthy they feel of having friends, fun, happiness or success.
They began to perceive the future as being hopeless. When these people live or believe to be living in such a world of pain and hurt then death ceases to be scary any more – Death then began to look like an easy way out, a simple solution to end their despair.
People, who have suicide ideation which lead to them committing suicide don’t just happen overnight. There are normally warning signs that are loud and clear. This is because it is not a norm for people to choose the path of death, people generally wanted to live. It’s just that they are struggling.
Some indication of a person who is seriously considering suicide is as follow:
- Talk or write about death, dying or suicide and suicidal method.
- Self hurt or self injury (this will be discuss in Part 2 of the series)
- Lack of interest, loss of concentration and withdrawal
- Trouble eating or sleeping (either excessive or lack)
- Feeling hopeless, anxious, agitated, uncontrolled or drastic change in behavior, mood and emotions
- Signs of preparing for death like making funeral arrangement, giving away prized possessions, writing letters or notes
Many a time the chance of recovery is higher if family and friends is able to pick up these signs and know how to handle such situation. Unfortunately, sad but true, sometimes the final push for a person to commit suicide is because they can’t even find the solace that they need from those closest to them. Think for a minute. If the person can get out of how they feel, do you think that they will need help? It’s often because they are lost in a maze that they need a light of guidance.
Some useful sites on this topic are as follow:
http://www.therapistlocator.net/families/Consumer_Updates/Suicidal_Thoughts.asp
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/help/warning_signs.aspx
http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/
http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/whattodo.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-harm
2 comments:
Truthfully, friends/ families regardless how close they are, may not completely understand what the person is going through. They may end up making things worse.
The best is to seek professional help.
sometimes people end it all because we feel we have gone too far to turn back. We have made too many mistakes; too many bad decisions. we want a fresh start. We are no longer worth continuing, because no one thinks we are worth it anymore. Yet, deep down inside we believe that we are better than the circumstances make us out to be. We won't ever seek "professional" help because that merely reaffirms the fact that we have screwed up; but no! deep down inside, we haven't screwed up! Please give us a chance to show what we can do. we are trapped by the circumstance; the only way out is a new start.
How can we get a new start? Let us leave this world in which too many mistakes have been made. let us go away to where all this can not catch up with us. Let us start with a blank sheet again so that we can do the things we really can do. Just give us a chance for a new start. Please.
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