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This discussion is on the basis of suicide. It is a difficult problem to solve when faced with it. However, I noticed that more and more people are talking about it, so I decided to make this thread about suicide.

Have you ever dealt with someone who states that they wish to commit suicide?
How would/did you handle it?
*Remember, if they came to you with it, then it must be someone who is close to you.

How do you view it, as a sign of weakness or strength?
Anything directly related to suicide will be honored, whether it is social views or statistics.

I know that it is a difficult subject for some, so there is no pressure to post anything that you do not feel comfortable with.

However, as both gaia and guild rules state, do not encourage suicide to any member.

Like smurflet said, it's a selfish act. What makes it selfish is that suicidals fail to consider other consequences besides their own self ending up dead. They fail to think about the ones who deeply care for them. That might not be true for all, but for most. Some people who threaten to commit suicide just do it for attention; it makes those who have made their life miserable feel guilty. Those who want to commit suicide, of course, have different perespectives of this. However, everyone should remember this: when you save someone from commiting suicide, you seriously save a life and you seriously saved yourself and others a lot of grief.

Actually, about this topic, one of my friends has been suicidal since I met her, but I haven't really seen her do anything drastic except stab her arm with a pen/pencil (ridiculously, btw). From the way she "stabbed herself" with that pen/pencil and from the fact that she's crying at least 3-4 times a week, I assumed that she only wanted attention (I have to mention that I was always there for her, though). But I'm not entirely sure, so I'm still worried about her. My best friend met her before I did, and when they finally started engaging in conversation was when she practically saved her from strangling herself with her 15lb. backpack eek . And I heard that she'll be moving to Virginia by the time school starts again. I'm awfully worried because my bestfriend and I won't be there to stop her if she does anything drastic. I'd tell someone, but I've never really been in this kind of situation before. I'm still trying to figure out a why to prevent anything like this when she's away.

I had a friend who was talking about committing suicice once. I don't know how seriously he considered it, though. Basically when he told me that, I told him I would lose all respect for him.

Suicice is selfish, and for all of the reasons previously stated by others. But honestly, I think that people who consider it have just had a serious misconception about what life is all about. Although that is something that each person needs to figure out for him or herself, I think that if you figure out what life is 'all about' and you get to experience life and actually feel alive, you won't even consider death as an option. That's just my take on it, though.

I was one day browsing through LI (life issues) and there was a writing of one girl who was seriously talking about suicide. She wasn't an angst teen as you many times see there, she had more objective way to see her situation which made me write to her post.

She soon responded to my post with a pm thanking me for an realistic observations of her life. After that we have talked many times through PMs about her life and her situation. It was a nice feeling to feel like I really did help her, atleast by listening. I think it was easier for her to speak some what anonymously. She's doing fine at the moment, so maby I did help her. Atleast to get her self some help.

It's an odd feeling to know that some one is really thinking of taking their life. For me the idea is so absurd so I really don't know how to handle it, so I tend to just listen. I'm not sure how I would feel if the person I know would actually commit an successfull suicide. I think I would feel guilt for not helping enough.

I think persons who choose suicide might not be weak, but tired. They might be so deep in their dark ideas that they just don't see any good left, even if it's standing right next to them. It's a scary thought that some one feels that they are so in dead end that they have no other escaping way. I don't see suicide as and selfish act since I think everyone is allowed to choose about their own life.

I don't approve suicide, but I think people should consentrate more on helping the person, instead of accusing. Saying for suicidal person that him/her should live for their loved ones so they wouldn't feel sad isn't enough. The suicidal person should understand that they need to live for them self.

Have any of you ever watched The Sea Inside? It's about a man who wants to be allowed to commit suicide because he is paralyzed from the neck down and shows a very interesting perspective about suicide.

There are also people, especially the elderly, who commit suicide because they do not want to be a financial burden on their family. Or there are soldiers who sacrifice themselves for their team-mates. Yes, they may be hurting their loved ones emotionally but is it or is it not for a good reason? I don't know.

From my personal experiences I think it's selfish and if it had to be either weak OR strong, I'd say it's weak. Someone told me once that it was more difficult to try to keep going on with life than to just end it immediately - and I really have to agree with him.

I never had to deal with someone who wanted to kill themself - I was actually that person. I still have to deal with it today. I find myself often getting incredibly depressed for days and days, and I feel very suicidal. At that time, I think all I really needed was for someone to just listen to me and my problems and not pass some sort of judgement about me. I think that's how many other people in that situation feel too.

http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=11202765

There's a link to a Suicide thread I made recently, read the OP if you're interested in my opinion. It goes against what lots of you guys are saying. I'm feeling lazy, sorry I'm not bothering to type a proper reply.