Suicide

[Solus]

Here's an expansion of a situation that may possibly allow for a justifiable suicide.

For example, a person has been unhappy in childhood, as a teenager and in adulthood, his/her feelings of loneliness, isolation, anger towards one's self are regular and normal. Relationships on a working, friendship, family and intimate level are difficult, unsuccessful and lead to deeper unhappiness.

Eventually, what some may term a breakdown occurs, the person experiences a very deep level of depression, further isolation, confusion and huge emotional pain.

Acting on his/her own initiative, he/she seeks help through his/her GP, then through other professionals to whom he/she is referred onto, including hospitals, mental health support services, counselors, therapists, cognitive behavioural therapy, psychiatric & psychological referrals and therapy, support groups, anonymous helplines, is prescribed anti-depressant medicine, the medicine is changed and increased/decreased as the years go on. The person attends any therapy he/she is supposed to and takes the medicine correctly.

Each attempt to get help, to change, to seek a solution or 'cure' or way of working through the pain, loneliness, isolation, depression, is initiated and followed through by the person themselves who informs his/her 'loved' ones about this in order to hopefully get support.

After more than 10 years nothing is working.

The loneliness, isolation, depression, self-hatred and more importantly the very real and deep pain is getting worse all the time. The 'loved' ones don't really help or understand. They protest that they are there for support and defend themselves. This makes the person feel worse and more isolated.

The horrendous unbearable emotional pain could be surpassed by brief and very irregular self inflicted physical pain and the overall pain could be solved by death.

There is nowhere else for the person to go from here having tried to do as much as possible for over a decade.

My concern is that this more than just a hypothetical example. I've dealt with depression since I was probably in the 4th grade (if not longer). As I got older it became worse (look up clinical depression). Ultimately I decided I would try every possible treatment before I'd give up and put a gun to my head. I did eventually find something that worked but it's no exaggeration that I've been seeking help for at least 10 years. I'm grateful I didn't have to try brain surgery but I would tried have anything to be able to enjoy life again. I'm of the belief that when we are dead we are dead and it's more than unlikely there will be angels or demons to talk to when it's all over...

As others have pointed out the only time it becomes reasonable to commit suicide is when the suffering becomes unbearable and medically all options have been completely exhausted. Please, please see a doctor if you are seriously thinking about this.

 

[lightcreatedlife@hom]

Suicide to save someone from their painful illness - that's the final way having sought and tried many different ways for over a decade.

---------------------

I have the answer to my question. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

When I said 'suicide to save' I was thinking of suicide planes crashing into warships, but I guess that could be said to be "sacrifice."
Painful illness? Over a decade? I'd say try many more different ways. And if I were answering a deciding question on the subject, I say NO.

 

[A Christian Sceptic]

For what it's worth. Here's a link to a song I co-wrote (I'm BGV's and Guitar) when a friend of my wives and mine committed suicide shortly after high school. (If there is rational suicide, hers would be classified as irrational)

My brother-in-law (who was also friends with her) and I recorded this in 1998. We didn't have the fancy equipment we have now, but I think it still turned out all right.

This is one of only two songs I've written that I never like to sing.

http://boomp3.com/m/6140ffcbcbe7/acs-non

Many Suicides are often permanant solutions to a temporary problems, it seems to me.

 

[Bikewer]

I agree that a rationally-considered suicide is always an option. It must be weighed against the trauma to survivors, of course.
Very few suicides fall into this category, of course. Almost always, the individual is in a state of depression, or is otherwise mentally unbalanced. We have certainly seen the rise of the murder/suicide, where an individual takes another's life and his own as well.
Some of these are motivated by obsessional vengeance (the killing of an ex-wife or girlfriend, for instance), or in some cases by the strange desire to spare the family the trauma of living without the person....The slaughter of family groups followed by suicide.

I have long wondered as to the strong desire by states to prohibit suicide. In almost any society, suicide is prohibited by law, and unsuccessful attempts can be punished.
There are very strong prohibitions against assisting in suicide, even by medical professionals. Why is it in the interest of the state to discourage suicide? The numbers involved annually are very small, after all. Is this somehow considered to be an affront to public order?