OT: Suicide sucks
 

I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment as I just found out that a teenage son of one of our friends just passed away. He's been in critical condition since Friday when it appears that he tried to take his own life.

This is on top of another friend who found his parents dead in their home just a couple of weeks ago. His father killed his mother and then took his own life. His brother committed suicide about a year ago, and now all of his immediate family members are gone.

Ugh...I just feel sick.

I had a good friend commit suicide about 10 years ago. We were very close.

Losing him left a giant whole in my life and affected me for years.

Get someone to talk to. It helps a lot.

That is absolutely tragic. So sorry to hear.

It absolutely does suck. In sixteen years of teaching, I've lost three students to suicide -- two after graduating and leaving school but that still kept in touch, and one in the middle of the school year, his sophomore year.

I'll never understand the motivation, but -- while any loss is deep and profound, suicide can be really hard on those left behind.

If you have the wherewithal to support others, it is important for them to know that it is not their fault. Keep talking to people. It's going to suck for a while, and that's normal, and that's okay. It won't suck forever.

Suicide is the great secret of modern society. No one has any idea how prevalent it is until it touches your life. The phone call, the shock, the drive to the ER in silence, greeting friends and family members under the worst circumstances imaginable, the funeral and the endless pain. If suicide never touches your life, you are incredibly blessed. If it does, you are in a much larger group than you thought possible.

My sincere sympathies are with you, Keith. May time lessen the pain and bring you peace.

Greg

Wow, Keith. Sorry to hear this. This is something that has touched many of us. Unfortunately, for too many, the question is not why to do it, but why not....

Horrible.

Depression is a very serious issue, and too many folks out there don't the get treatment then need.

So sorry Keith. My oldest son had a friend commit suicide in high school. To some extent my son never fully recovered. It changed him. He was more cynical about life. Tough to see your son go through that.

Sorry to hear this Keith. Both of those incidents are very difficult to even think about. i hope you and the respective families/friends can find some peace.

Anguish for all involved
 

I hope you can be there for your friend(s) and that someone is there for you as well. My uncle killed himself, after a lifetime of various attempts/gestures. It is hard to imagine the emotional pain one must feel that makes the choice of suicide a reasonable option. For any grief, I find allowing the sadness, and even scheduling it (for example recently losing my mom, I would play certain songs that were favorites of hers at a set time each evening and morning when I was alone, and it triggered a very, very emotional response, which before I tried this technique, I would have random fits of tears at inopportune times and have to leave my family to collect myself. At first the "scheduled crying" was just incredible sadness and tears, but over time, became positive memories instead. I don't know if it will benefit you, but I wanted to offer that, rather than solely my sincerest wishes and sympathy, which of course I offer as well.

This is hard to hear. Im sorry you and yours are experiencing this. Sending good vibes.

Ive had too many close experiences with suicide, and it continues to haunt my life and family to this day.

Be good to everyone you meet, we never know what they are dealing with.

My condolences to all

Sorry to hear this. I have been touched by suicide as well. A former childhood friend killed his wife and then himself a number of years ago and had a coworker do the same about 7-8 years ago. It's something that unfortunately is much more common than many people think. Especially now it seems, with the cyber bullying etc. Take care, hope things get better.

tragic stuff
 

I mean it. And we here near SF are spending $200 million to stop a few folks from jumping from a bridge. I think both things are alarming. That's $200 million with an M.

http://time.com/4736962/golden-gate-bridge-suicide-net/

Thanks so much for the thoughts, suggestions and sharing your experiences...it means a lot to me.

This is the third time suicide has touched my life. The first time was with a dear friend who I was trying to help him overcome his wife leaving. He was also seeing a professional counselor, but he just couldn't get over her. So he lit his house on fire and watched it burn from his back yard, and at some point turned a gun on himself.

I have thought often about what Jim said, "It is hard to imagine the emotional pain one must feel that makes the choice of suicide a reasonable option." What is really hard is to be close to this person, and know that you couldn't help them make a different choice.