Suicide : Let's Start a Conversation
I am interested in why suicide is such a taboo subject in Western society.These are the reasons I think it makes people uncomfortable.
People don't want to imagine losing their own partner/child/parent to suicide.
Thinking about someone you love dying brings us pain and sadness. Imagining what it would be like to live without our partner, our child or our parents is not something we willingly do. Even if illness or old age is the cause of death, loss, grief and bereavement are experiences we would rather not think about.
People think that people who commit suicide have gone to hell.
Religion states that taking a life is a sin against God, and taking your own life condemns your soul to hell. People are unable to find words of comfort or support when they imagine the deceased is now enduring eternal torment. (Just so you know -- there IS NO HELL).
People blame everyone else except the person who committed suicide.
We are taught that it is unkind to speak ill of the dead, so we would rather make the "cause" of suicide something or someone outside of the person who died. This blame is transferred to the person closest to the deceased. People find it difficult to feel sorry for the person left behind when that person must have contributed in some way to the suicide. (Just so you know -- it is no-one's fault. Everyone makes their own decisions).
People are reminded of their own mortality.
Most of us want to live forever. Most of us want a long and healthy life. We are scared that some disease or accident will cut short our lives. We want to forget that we are mortal and death comes to everyone.
People have their own suicide stories.
Most people know someone who has committed suicide or have contemplated suicide themselves. They have never been able to express how they are really feeling about this silent epidemic. Talking about suicide brings up all the buried emotions they have fought so hard to suppress. They are ashamed of their own suicidal thoughts or the trauma they have experienced being a survivor.
Let's Start a Conversation
Suicide is a disease. A mental illness can be fatal. If someone has depression, borderline personality disorder or even an eating disorder then without treatment their diseased brains can convince them they would be better off dead. It is the same as cancer. My husband lost his battle with a mental illness. He never got treatment, but even if he did, there are no guarantees that he would still be alive. All I want is for people to treat me the same way they would if he had died from a heart attack.
Blame is pointless. Shame is destructive. Healing comes through honesty and compassion.
Why do you find suicide difficult to talk about?
Related Article
- Depression and Suicide - Breaking the Link (everydayhealth.com)
Further Reading
- A Suicide Survivors Guide for Grieving; Based on Per...
One of the most painful ways to be left behind by a loved one is through suicide. A suicidal death leaves those loved ones left behind feeling numb and confused... - Suicide : What Happens to Those Left Behind
When your husband kills himself you're not meant to talk about it. This is what happened to me. I am a Suicide Widow.
