Committing suicide is an act of cowardice---Do you agree?

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   ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years ago

   Committing suicide is an act of cowardice---Do you agree?

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   bankscottageposted 12 years ago

   Or, it could be a desperate scream for help that went unheard.

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      ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks bankscottage, for your response. I agree, if there are people in your life, who hear you, no one will want to end their precious life.

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   lburmasterposted 12 years ago

   Not of cowardice, but a sign of no hope. It is saddening when someone decides to take their own life. What most individuals take for granted, others wish they had more of, life. Not everyone has a good life, not everyone has an easy life. However, taking your own seems one of the most obvious signs of loss, hopelessness, stress, and no sign of relief anywhere.
   A way to prevent suicide, even when things are at their worst, consists of having a religion. Religious individuals normally consider suicide as a horrible and vile act that can ruin your chance in the after-life. You can also surround yourself with colorful paintings or clothes, have more friends, live in an environment that is not too hot or too cold, etc.

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      Sarra Garrettposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Even having religion doesn't prevent suicide as the suicidal are only thinking of ending their emotional pain and nothing else.

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      lburmasterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Religion helps prevent against suicide. When someone has a religion, they find a higher purpose that helps them cope with difficult times. I'm not saying no religious individuals commit suicide. I'm saying the numbers are reduced by this one factor.

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      Sarra Garrettposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Not necessarily.  I guess you would have to be in that place to understand.  Yes thinking of spending eternity in Hell may prevent some. 
      http://sarragarrett.hubpages.com/hub/Su … d-Bullying

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      ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      '--signs of loss, hopelessness, stress, and no sign of relief---', you are right, I agree. Again having faith in the supreme being, helps people to have hope and they may turn away from taking the extreme step. I respect your views,lburmaster, thanks

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   innerspinposted 12 years ago

   Two people I know who've comitted suicide were mentally ill at the time. So, they were unwell, and sadly died because of their illness. Every case is different.  Unless you know the full story behind the headlines, you can't judge what the reasons are for someone's actions. Some may seem selfish or cowardly on the face of it, but there are two sided to every story.

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      Sarra Garrettposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Please read my answer below.  Were these people friends of yours?  the way you say they were 'mentally ill' sounds like you were afraid of them.

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      innerspinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Mental illness isn't something to be scared of. They were work colleaugues. Not sure how my answer sounds so wrong, guess it's the trouble with not seeing body language or hearing tone of voice.

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      ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks innerspin for your response. As you said, every case is different--- I  feel, we must teach our children to be emotionally strong, to cope up  with the trials and tribulations of life, develop inner strength, to face the setbacks with courage.

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      IDONOposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Many times, emotional strenghth is what got some to the point of suicide. Surrendering and accepting your problem opens doors to solutions. Mentally, medically or spiritually, there is always someone that can help, if you ask.

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   Old Empresarioposted 12 years ago

   Of course not. Cowards want to live; not die.

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      ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your answer.

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   Sarra Garrettposted 12 years ago

   Absolutely not!  When someone commits suicide it is not cowardice at all, it takes more strength than you can imagine.  Suicide victims utterly feel there is no other way out of their pain.  No hope whatsoever is left in their lives. Hopelessness is a very lonely place.  Generally, those who commit suicide are totally alone in their thoughts and in their life. They are in a deep pit and the walls are so slick they can't climb out. They  have absolutely no one they can turn to and  this includes their family.  Most people still feel that depression is like leprosy and people should be committed and locked away for ever.  Have you ever watched "The Snake Pit"?  It's a wonderful story of the first doctor who actually talked to the patient in order for them to put her thoughts in the right place. It's the birth of psychiatry. It shows what the sanitariums were like.
   
   We are not born with coping skills, these are skills that are learned.  In order to learn to cope we have to have mentors in our lives that teach us this skill.  (family, friends)  when you don't have either it's a very lonely world.  I know, I've been there once in my life and it's not a pretty place.

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      ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Sarra G!
      I respect your emotions and I can understand your pain. But the second paragraph you have written is noteworthy. If coping skills are learned since childhood, people will stay away from taking this extreme step. Thanks for your response.

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   sparksterposted 12 years ago

   No, I do not agree.  Suicide is most certainly NOT an easy way out - it's the most difficult way out and it's not something which is easy to do.  How do you think the burden of knowing that your family and friends will be left devastated to pick up the pieces you leave behind makes a suicidal person feel?  They don't want their family to go through that suffering but they can't, themselves, bear to suffer any longer.  Selfish maybe, but definitely not cowardly.

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      ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks sparkster for your opinion. I feel so bad for the family they leave behind--wife, children may be even parents. How wonderful would it be, to sit together and mend matters, which may have gone wrong. Life is so precious,give it a  2nd chance.

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      sparksterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Indeed life is precious.  I have actually been suicidal many times in my life for various reasons and I'm so glad I never actually went ahead with it, things are so much better now.  As far as we know we only get one life and it should be cherished.

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   IDONOposted 12 years ago

   No. I think it is an extreme case of selfishness. When you are willing to put everyone near you through the pain of your death for the purpose of relieving your own pain, that's selfish to the tenth degree.Not only the grief of your loss, but if you are to that point of killing yourself, you have probably made a huge amount of messes in your life that someone has to try to clean up.

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      ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks IDONO, for responding to the question. Life has its share of joys and sorrows and we should be able to deal with both. Ending life is no solution and can not help anybody. It is running away from problems.Thanks for your opinion.

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      Crissyliteposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Losing someone to suicide is sad and a sensitive matter. When someone is so low (so depressed) that they end their life, it's hard to tell what must have been going through the mind. I think it's deeper than selfishness. Serious help was needed.

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      IDONOposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Crissy. The person you discribe can only have one thing on their mine. Themselves. Their state of mind may not be selfish, but their choice of the solution is self-serving at the expense of others. It's the action, not the thought that hurts others.

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   Crissyliteposted 12 years ago

   Not all. People who feel like ending their life are at a very low state emtionally. It's not that they are afraid of life or are punking out, but instead need to know that there are people who love them and want them. But most importantly, they need to know that there is hope and a reason for their llife.

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      ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I agree completely, Crissylite. Hope and reason, family and friends, who love them-- feel them loved and wanted are required in the lives of these people. Persons, they can look up to in times of emotional stress and anxiety. Thanks for your opinion.

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    austinhealyposted 12 years ago

    Anybody who commits suicide is not in a right state of mind. Therefore, it would be a little harsch to pass such a judgement on anybody, when we don't know the state of  their life, and the pressures they are under. In any case it certainly takes a certain amount of courage to end one's own life, I would think.

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       ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks austinhealy, for your opinion. You are right, anybody who takes the extreme step may not be in the right state of mind---and the pressures they are under may be too much for them to handle.

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    lone77starposted 12 years ago

    Yes, most definitely. Suicide is an act of cowardice.
    
    I see by some of the answers here that some people think cowards want to keep their life, but I disagree. Cowards want not to suffer. Sometimes life itself is suffering to them. The inability to face suffering and to place self's desires ahead of all else is cowardice because they are not facing the fear of consequences of that suffering. They have become "victim" by their lack of responsibility. But taking action on it makes them "perpetrator."
    
    Perhaps more importantly, suicide perpetrators are the most selfish people of all. Their focus is wholly on themselves. Their suffering is all about themselves and what has been done to them.
    
    The heroic person can face all manner of discomfort with a smile.
    
    It takes bravery to face one's own ego. It takes bravery (faith and fearlessness) to become humble and responsible.

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       ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I agree completely with your opinion, lone77star. Thanks for responding to the question.

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    Jennifer Bartposted 12 years ago

    No I don't agree I think its an act of suffering most people who kill themselves do so because they are in to much pain to move forward in life and feel there is no way out. I don't by any means think its the right thing to do because of the people you leave behind but I also do not think its an act of cowardice.

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       ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks Jennifer Bart, for your response!  I agree, it is an act of hopelessness and if someone close, stands by the person, who wants to take the extreme step, this can certainly be avoided. Life is so precious, for us and for those who live for us.

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    gmwilliamsposted 10 years ago

    
    
    For some committing suicide can be an act of cowardice to avoid just punishment for a crime e.g. Adolf Hitler in the last days of World War II committed suicide to avoid capture and possible execution by the Red Army.   Not only Adolf Hitler but many despots and war criminals throughout history committed suicide to avoid their comeuppance so to speak. 
    
    For others, committing suicide is the supreme act of courage.  They contend that they are in an abysmal situation and contend that they will not be the subject of life but a proactive participant.  They argue that rather to live a lesser quality life, they would commit suicide than not to live life on their own terms.

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       ChitrangadaSharanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks gmwilliams, for sharing your views!
       I agree it can be different in different cases and different people. Thanks!

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    Sudhir Devapalanposted 7 years ago

    If you ask me I would say that living is a lot harder than dying. Especially if you are burdened by some problem it makes it all that more difficult to live on. But death is instant. It is the people who are around you and close to you that end up suffering more. I wouldn't want to call suicide as an act of cowardice bluntly but it does seem like an easier option.

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