Has suicide ever touched your life?

Archeron

Inspired by the other thread about the morality of suicide, I got to wonder how many of us have had our lives touched in some way by suicide. Be it a friend, family member, or even an attempt yourself, what proportion of us have some experience of this terrible event?

For myself, I would say I've experienced it a moderate amount. Two people I used to consider friends years ago killed themselves, and one person whom I know very well tried, (and failed thank God) to kill themself just a couple of years ago.

How has this problem touched you, and do you think personally thats its as big a problem as the media suggests? I think it it a huge problem which still does not seem to get the attention it needs.

Ruu_Old

My cousin killed himself 3 years ago and it had a devastating effect on most of his family (and still has, I'm not sure if my aunt will ever get over it ) and rest of the relatives. I was not in the country at the time and hadn't seen him in a few years.

philologos

Less than 2 years ago, someone in my year in school committed suicide. It was the first time I ever had such an experience, and it hit my friends who were also friends with him very hard. I knew him reasonably well but not as well as some of my other friends. I went to his funeral and it was the most depressing thing I have ever been at. One thing I know for sure is that it hit his family pretty hard and many of his close friends.

mikemac

Only 54 people in my Leaving Cert year in the CBS and three students killed themselves.

Wasn't "copy cat", entirely different circumstances for each.

I'd be from a rural farming area and it's an issue with elderly bachelor farmers in particular.
The local GAA club/the Parish Council and the Bishop (from Diocse funds) all chipped in 33% to buy a new minibus.
It's used by the GAA club for matches and then some locals take turns to ferry the over 65's to Mass/poker night/dinner dances, etc. The over 65's club has activities on most weeks.
The locals can use it too but they pay taxi fare pays for running costs and a few quid for the driver.

It's a good solution and maybe more places should have something similar.

Last point, tens of millions are spent on road safety and rightly so. The media are obsessed with road saftey stories.
But sucide prevention is another important cause and the media don't give a damn about it. Doesn't make good headlines I suppose

Blowfish

I switched schools at one point, and at the start of my second year in the new school one of the teachers (not one who taught me however) commited suicide. All of my classmates knew this teacher, and many had been taught by this person previously, and was known as one of the favourite teachers in the school.

Since I hadn't been there long and didn't know this teacher at all, I almost watched the whole thing from the outside looking in. It was a surreal experience, yet also an incredibly touching one, as the teachers and students around me genuinely bonded with eachother in their grief.

nacho libre

My aunt killed herself a few years ago.

dr_manhattan

of a school year of 93, six suicides. Three close.

where I grew up, the local vet, local doctor and three teachers suicided.

three teenage friends outside of school, suicides.

and my father, seven years ago.

To be honest, I almost find it funny that people ask questions like "is suicide okay?" or "is suicide immoral?"

Is cancer okay or immoral?

To digress (I realise this post may be better off in the "is suicide immoral?" thread, but tbh when it got to people talking about blowing themselves up in schools and the morality of that... ) -

There are some things in nature that are simply unstoppable factors of life on which it is pointless to have an opinion. Suicide happens, and it is quite simply an area where our capacity as human beings to judge the actions of another human being break down.

You cannot judge a human being's judgement of themselves.

It is important to work to save those that we can, but it is equally important to remember that our value judgements on suicide are of no use to anyone, not even ourselves. It is not a "good" thing, it is not a "bad" thing, it's like cancer or fire, plague or flood. It happens and we best be aware of it.

But right or wrong?

Go visit an ICU this christmas and tell the people there with the cuts and the puke and the sunken eyes that they are "wrong" or "selfish" or indeed that you forgive them, that what they did was "okay". Maybe you'll learn how sometimes the most casually held opinion is a horrible thing, and none of your business to have.

Otherwise, try to avoid having an opinion, cos it's worse than useless.

My 2 cents