Serious Is suicide a "cowards way out"

[K.I.T.T.]

There is usually very little rational thought involved in suicide. If you've never been in a suicidal frame of mind, or have never known someone who deals with powerful suicidal ideation, then it is very difficult to put yourself in the shoes of a suicidal person - because the thought processes exhibited by those people are so alien to the mentally sound. There are instances, however, in which suicide is rationally thought out and carried through with, as with terminally ill patients, for example. But as I've lightly alluded to, those who commit suicide cannot all be clumped together, especially not in terms of bravery or cowardice, which tend to be value-laden metrics attached to suicide by those thinking rationally about the subject. To do so is to examine suicide under the scope of normative moral philosophy. And though philosophy is helpful in many realms of life, philosophy is by definition based in reason and logic. So, instead, the suicidal individual can best be examined within the broad scope of mental illness, wherein irrational thought and action are better understood, and even taken for granted.

Generally speaking, within the context of mental illness, cognitive distortions - within the mind of those exhibiting suicidal ideation - make suicide seem rational, just as cognitive distortions can make murder or violence seem like rational and reasonable means to deal with one's problems. Perspectives become skewed under cognitive distortion, and it is under such distorted suicidal perspectives that committing suicide can become possible for many individuals. I, for example, could not fathom committing suicide; but, under the correct circumstances (meaning under heavy cognitive distortion) I could very easily find suicide rational and actionable.

Far too often, we attempt to understand the irrational acts of others using our rational frames of reference, but it is often very difficult to understand irrational acts from a rational perspective unless we examine them in terms of pathology, which is to say if examine them in terms of what went wrong in someone's mind in order to allow them to commit such otherwise unreasonable acts. That tends to be why people do not understand suicide: because it is more often than not an inherently aberrant behavior committed by those exhibiting unsound reasoning; and most people cannot relate to that.

Damn, dude. That's gotta be one of the most intelligent and meaningful replies I've ever seen here.

 

[Bruno Schulz]

Damn, dude. That's gotta be one of the most intelligent and meaningful replies I've ever seen here.

Thanks, man. I really appreciate that. 🫡

 

[hedgerow]

I see what people mean when they say "suicide is the coward's way out". I think it's pretty ballsy to try and kill yourself. Most people won't even cut themselves with a knife, but these are people who have the guts to end their life. Overriding the instinct of self preservation. With that being said, those who are unsuccessful in the attempt could make their life even worse (permanent disfiguration).

That’s why it’s essential to do correctly. Gunshot to the head or jumping off very tall building for reasonable chance of success.

 

[hedgerow]

Totally agree. An immense amount of courage is needed more than anything else

I disagree. Pulling a gun trigger is easy.

 

[hedgerow]

There may be a crazy gene in my family. Two out of three in my cousin’s family killed themself. I never saw one smile unless a small fake one, and the other one never stopped laughing. Go figure, it really is good to be a moderate.

 

[Fäthër Cörpsë]

Take into consideration the slow wasting away from addiction as a form of long term suicide. Its destruction is evident and yields the eventual same results as pulling a trigger or jumping from a building.

there is a rationale behind some suicides that might be hard to grasp without personally experiencing it, or something similar to it. Like terminal illness as previously mentioned.

 

[Soothinghum]

If you raise your hand for some hours how does it feel?
Raise it for 2,555 days. Why don't you get over it? Just be courageous draw a smiley with a marker on your face.

Go find a job 2,557th day, how many rejections do you get?

 

[MrBang]

I don't know if it was a scare tactic at a young age or just a defense mechanism when people gave it thought. But all my life I've been programmed from various angles to believe suicide is a cowards way to go... Is it really a cowards way though. All you know and experience is this life, reality. You have no idea what is next and are banking on absolutely nothing but nothing no conscious just gone, and you lose so much touch with care that you reach that point of ending it when you really don't know and going through and doing it.... In my opinion cowards wouldn't be strong enough in a sense to go through with that.

Damnit I forgot to put tags on this post I usually do. I know what it's like to look for a video and type out clearly what happens in the search and no tags cause nothing to pop up.. nobody wants to find this anyway. But I want to know what the census is in this community's

Yes however as long as it doesn’t affect anyone else it’s ok, like if you jump off a bridge on the motorway and land on or in front of a vehicle then that’s cowardly because that person will have nightmares for life

 

[methedup77]

I don't know if it was a scare tactic at a young age or just a defense mechanism when people gave it thought. But all my life I've been programmed from various angles to believe suicide is a cowards way to go... Is it really a cowards way though. All you know and experience is this life, reality. You have no idea what is next and are banking on absolutely nothing but nothing no conscious just gone, and you lose so much touch with care that you reach that point of ending it when you really don't know and going through and doing it.... In my opinion cowards wouldn't be strong enough in a sense to go through with that.

Damnit I forgot to put tags on this post I usually do. I know what it's like to look for a video and type out clearly what happens in the search and no tags cause nothing to pop up.. nobody wants to find this anyway. But I want to know what the census is in this community's

It’s definitely a coward way out. It doesn’t take that much guts to do it. We see it all the time here. When you can’t handle life? You’re weak. Now! Saying that, there should be only a couple instances where I’d say suicide if fine. One, you’re driving someone hits you kills your family and you’re the only survivor? You’re fucking 80yrs old? Poor health and it’s just not worth living, or your life is lost by either knowingly going to prison for life or you lost your career, a your entire life savings. Those would be valid reasons. But because life is tough or you lost a gf? You’re a fucking pussy

 

[steroidtulip]

Well your dead so it doesn't matter what people think

 

[Astralnaut]

Thanks, man. I really appreciate that. 🫡

Yeah man that was really well written. 👏

 

[jewel13]

In most cases, it feels like either hopelessness or impulsive action, would not call that cowardice. We cannot possibly know what others go through at any given time.

BUT, in my opinion, a criminal that got arrested and kills himself or goes SBC, those are cowards. No justice for the families, no answers...I hate that

 

[mrln]

My grandpa hung himself because he went insane from the pain he was in. Was no coward just couldn't take it anymore.

and that righ tthere is what i was thinking of. (not gramps) but the fact that people live in and with pain most of their lives. at least almost all their adult life. like back pain for instance. i used to be a firm believer that suicide was for the weak minded. i still do,if its all about you and having a pity party because you broke up with someone. but on the other hand mental illness is rough and sometimes one doesnt know WHAT to think. and cant take it anymore either. meds no longer work or still trying to figure out the right concoction. then theres physical pain. which who wants to live like that every day? wake up in pain. in pain all day long. go to bed with pain. barely sleep because of the pain. that aint no life either. how many meds are you gunna take? how many procedures you going to under go before the dr says theres nothing else they can do. my father said to me last yr he cant wait for the day to come,because hes tired of the pain. but he said he wont off himself either. hes against that. but pain is a mother fucker.not only for the whatever it is that ails ya,but it also fucks with your heart. so not only do you have back problems,but now you are at risk for major heart problems too. and the havoc meds do to your organs also. because this med causes ulsers,you need a med for that too. or an antacid for preventative measures. next think your taking a shit load of pills, for one root cause! so yea, i get the pain aspect of the reason to off ones self. its a miserable existence and the quality of life sux too.

 

[matt06nissa]

In my opinion you need courage to end your life. A year ago i want to jump from the 7th story at work. I climb the balcony and look down. I was scared.
Firemen recue me. I feel like a coward because i didn't do, because peoples see me weak. And because peoples who loves me knows that i cant talk with them.
So it depends your state of minds. You can say it's a coward way to go or you can feel as a coward because you have no courage to do.
In all ways it's pain.

 

[likedollseyes]

My stepmother killed herself. My father was/is an abusive, pill popping, alcoholic piece of fucking shit, and he would drill it into her brain that my brother and he would be "so much better without her". He took my brother, her son, against custody stipulations and moved out of state, completely abandoning her as a mother and a human being, knowing she couldn't afford to fight to get him back. He knew that her son was the one thing (pawn, like the rest of my sisters and me) that she lived and breathed for. She was the most adventurous, loving, kindest sweetheart of a soul you could ever meet, and he beat her down with words, fists, abandonment, and taking my brother five states away. Was she a coward? Hell no, not by any means. She was systematically broken down by a fucking worthless piece of shit that has absolutely no appreciation for what he has or ever had. I fucking hate that man with a passion of galaxies worth of burning suns.

These parents that do that shit right in front of their kids, like we've seen here on this site? Those are the coward fucks.

 

[BeHappy⚕️]

Obviously I sympathise.. with anyone that goes through with it

I do think if you have family and loved ones... well it's a bit like "never wanting to go to war, but being willing to fight for those you love"

Some mental states are really.. disturbingly terrible though and it's hard to really appreciate without experiencing it. Nevermind if someone's psychotic etc.

I'm not sure how much it would come to mind "in the moment" cowardly or not just.. isn't an issue or a consideration, can almost be "autopilot".
I'm not sure bravery comes into all that much either... maybe up until you make the decision hey
I've always seen it like an "escape" button.... if things have become hell and you really don't seem to be able to change it because you've also become so utterly fucked that you're basically crippled.. or just dissociated and too lethargic to care at all, about anything
Then it just happens.
Sit and brood long enough with the means to kill yourself when you're depressed (especially if life happens too.. losses, jobs, family, home, etc.. we all get them but sometimes a few all come at once, like dominoes)
Hell it almost comes down to being a practicality



I imagine unless it's a "hyper emotional" or manic sort of suicide (a romance thing or spur of the moment, lost everything you own, or just lost family) where you just "go nuts" and impulse it.
then It's a pretty cold and emotionless affair... a sort of "surrender".
I wouldn't wish that state of mind on anyone....

But hey
Im alive
So what the hell do I know

 

[ZliZli]

I think it's far more dignified to end your life than to be medicated whole life either with AD/benzos/alcohol because that way you can "function" and not off yourself. Numbed down, like a zombie without pulse. That's coward's way of living for me. Suicide takes immense courage, but only if you truly have no one. If you leave your closed ones mourning, then I don't respect it.
By the way, I read once somewhere how long each suicide takes and how many seconds/minutes the agony last. I think bullet was least painful, but even that is not painless, it's about 4-6 seconds of agony IIRC.