I havent mentioned this yet, but I feel it must be said. Note: this is not an endorsement of suicide. It is only my thoughts that I hope will help people for whom depression and suicide is but a theoretical or philosophical abstract concept. Not something they know in the most intimate terms. The fear of death is a universal human fear. It is almost certainly the most powerful fear that is hard wired into our brains. Furthermore, the innate instinct to preserve ones life at all costs is the most natural instinct we have. Thats how professed and devout pacifists can become violent if threatened. (Thats what makes pacifism itself so incredibly hard.) The fear of death leads one to preserve ones life. At all costs. For a person to breach that hurdle, to come to a point where they face down the dread of what comes next (if anything) and then take ones life, by definition cannot be cowardly. In fact, many people who seriously contemplate suicide but never take a step beyond contemplation dont take that next step out of fear: fear of the pain, fear of what might happen, fear of non-existence. In short, they will often say they are too cowardly to take their own life. I repeat. Those that do NOT take that horrific next step feel cowardly for NOT doing it. Theyve looked death in the eye, and have looked away. This may seem counterintuitive to many people, but this is the nature of depression and mental illness. Having known several people whove made suicide attempts, or contemplated them -- and sadly one or two who have committed suicide -- has given me insights to mental illness I otherwise may not have had. I do not know it all. Nor do I understand the depths people can sink in their own minds. But it is rarely an issue that can be parsed down to something as simple as the thoughts of a Fox News (or any news) commentator. Here is what Ive learned from people who battle depression: You havent walked in another persons shoes or felt their pain, despair, and emptiness. And they do not want you to. They dont even want it themselves.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 00:18:26 +0000
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