[chator]

Personally, i think suicide is an act of hopelessness. The person committing it, doesn't see a way out of their problems, so they take their life. Their problems seem overwhelming to them, and they lack the imagination, resources, or help to solve them.

[horatio]

Originally Posted by chator

Personally, i think suicide is an act of hopelessness. The person committing it, doesn't see a way out of their problems, so they take their life. Their problems seem overwhelming to them, and they lack the imagination, resources, or help to solve them.

Because a serious depression might eventually drive you there. Sometimes all the help from family, friends and psychologists is not enough.
As hard as it is for the people who cared about Andrew Koenig, it is important to respect his decision to end his life.

[Commodore]

For some, I think life becomes too hard and too painful for them to endure. They're suffering. They're in misery. They simply want the misery to end. Not tomorrow. Not in a few months or years. They want release from their pain now.

I've been around people whose pain--either physical or emotional--is unimaginable, and there is no way we can relate to their pain because we're not experiencing it the way they are. I don't agree with suicide, but I can understand it. In some ways, the most puzzling thing about suicide is that we generally can't fathom the depths of despair or suffering that drove a person to take their own life...

[chator]

Originally Posted by Commodore

For some, I think life becomes too hard and too painful for them to endure. They're suffering. They're in misery. They simply want the misery to end. Not tomorrow. Not in a few months or years. They want release from their pain now.

I've been around people whose pain--either physical or emotional--is unimaginable, and there is no way we can relate to their pain because we're not experiencing it the way they are. I don't agree with suicide, but I can understand it. In some ways, the most puzzling thing about suicide is that we generally can't fathom the depths of despair or suffering that drove a person to take their own life...

According to an article i was reading this morning Andrew seems to have had a busy life, acting, directing, and as a political activist. Its hard to imagine how someone with so much to live for could give it all up?

[TheTrekkie]

Probably due to depressions.
Depressions are a serious illness. As if someone broke the button for negative emotions, so that your body goes on and on in sending "you feel bad, you feel bad, you feel bad"

Originally Posted by chator

Its hard to imagine how someone with so much to live for could give it all up?

Maybe all these activities were only some kind of overcompensation, to forget and overlap his bad feelings.

[Commodore]

Originally Posted by TheTrekkie

Maybe all these activities were only some kind of overcompensation, to forget and overlap his bad feelings.

I've often heard such things.

You just don't know what some people are actually going through in the sense of what kind of problems they have. You may look at this guy and think "Aw, he's got it good," when he may be really on the verge of total despair...

[NCC-73515]

I was tempted to do it several times some years ago, when I was a teenager. It was not only to release me from emotional pain, but also to show the bad guys (all those who caused this pain) what they are doing and who they're about to lose...

[kevin]

Originally Posted by chator

According to an article i was reading this morning Andrew seems to have had a busy life, acting, directing, and as a political activist. Its hard to imagine how someone with so much to live for could give it all up?

I think that's why it's so hard to tell someone is experiencing mental health issues and depression. It's so mysterious a condition with so many factors that are internal to the person - all the external success in the world has no bearing on what's going on inside the mind - that's why it's so difficult to comprehend when it happens.

[starwarsrcks]

It's just so upsetting that people would take their own life why do it?

[MrQ1701]

Originally Posted by NCC-73515

I was tempted to do it several times some years ago, when I was a teenager. It was not only to release me from emotional pain, but also to show the bad guys (all those who caused this pain) what they are doing and who they're about to lose...

Man... I'm sorry to hear you went through that. I have known a couple of people that have had bouts with depression and suicidal thoughts. It is not easy, as someone watching a loved one degrade like that. Often when I have acted to prevent suicide attempts I have been treated like the bad guy. In the end I don't really care about that as long as I succeeded in preventing the loss of life.

When I was young I was the opposite. Rather than channel the pain inward or on myself... I would actually go after the ones causing me the pain. I would have rather hurt them, physically, and gotten into trouble rather than hurt myself.