In A Showdown With The Program I Present Through

[*michaelsean*]

(02-19-2019, 12:34 PM)fredtoast Wrote: This is a very good point.  There is always some level of guilt felt by some of the surviving friends and family.

I don't want to sound like I am promoting suicide.  If it is a mental health issue then people need to be encouraged to get help.  But in end-of-life situations I believe assisted suicide should be legal.  And while many people would agree with the end-of-life situation for elderly or terminally ill there is a huge grey area involving young people who may just be disabled and/or depressed.

Oh yeah there are legitimate end of life discussions.  Be it DNR or a little too much morphine.  If you are talking days or weeks or even a month or two, yeah I see that.  

I would say suicide is an unbelievably complex issue, and has to be taken on a case by case basis and certainly not generalized.  I would say the vast majority of physically healthy adults who take their lives merit our sympathy.  I'm not speaking of say direct family members whose array of emotions have to be insane, but for those of us on the outside looking in. The assumption has to be that they were in an intolerable situation mentally, and for the most part they really tried everything they could. 

 I know it may sound overwrought, but when I hear of a middle aged person, often a parent, who takes their life knowing full well the impact it will have, I don't feel anger like a lot of people would, I think that they gave every last thing they had to staying around as long as possible.  They fought a lonely silent battle for decades that most of us can't even understand.  

So I'm sorry, Brad.  But the more I think on it, the more I think you are well-intentioned but wrong.  Most suicides have nothing to do with not wanting to face the consequences of their actions.  It's just the only way to stop the pain that is never  going away.