Anyone feel like if they felt they were losing the battle against another potentially fatal illness, they'd be treated with much more understanding?

[devin44]

I think it's partially the fact that suicide is of course a choice (as we understand choice) at the end of the day, and that years of fiercely accrued mental struggle aren't visible. It just feels to me as though if you were losing another incredibly exhausting health battle, you'd be able to be surrounded by medical professionals and perhaps wellwishers and loved ones, showered in support, rest and education about what might come next, rather than people who can't realistically make an assessment of the proceedings of your internal conflict telling you to keep fighting it at all costs. They are often right that good times are around the corner, but they don't understand the raw exertion that it can take to get there. That's not to say that I haven't had lots of incredibly helpful support, but it all comes with the caveat - you must get better. Depression - and other MH issues - are the only possibly life-threatening illnesses that you are banned from succumbing to.

 

[FuneralCry]

Of course people who are dying from a fatal/terminal illnesses are more understood. I think in regards to suicide, people are naturally selfish and they want others to stay alive for their sake. If the person is actually dying from an illness then that is completely out of the control of other people and they can do nothing to prevent it, so they are more compassionate.

We deserve a right to die, a peaceful exit at a time of our own choosing. Only we are experiencing what we are going through. It does frustrate me that suicide is something that must always be prevented. We have the right to take our own lives at a time of our choosing and it is up to the individual.

 

[toforigivelife]

I think it's partially the fact that suicide is of course a choice (as we understand choice) at the end of the day, and that years of fiercely accrued mental struggle aren't visible. It just feels to me as though if you were losing another incredibly exhausting health battle, you'd be able to be surrounded by medical professionals and perhaps wellwishers and loved ones, showered in support, rest and education about what might come next, rather than people who can't realistically make an assessment of the proceedings of your internal conflict telling you to keep fighting it at all costs. They are often right that good times are around the corner, but they don't understand the raw exertion that it can take to get there. That's not to say that I haven't had lots of incredibly helpful support, but it all comes with the caveat - you must get better. Depression - and other MH issues - are the only possibly life-threatening illnesses that you are banned from succumbing to.

The same people who would be kind and understanding if you had a fatal disease of the body will abandon those who have a fatal disease of psyche, of the mind.

I think the fact that suicidal people have no one to simply listen to them and help people understand why they're suicidal is a huge contributor to the suicide rate.

Maybe the topic is just too disturbing and traumatic for those who cannot fathom taking their own lives but this leaves a suicidal person who on top of suffering constant pain and anguish profoundly, terrifyingly and agonizingly isolated.

Canada, Portugal and European countries have added mental illness under their criteria for assisted suicide.

I wish people could just learn to try and listen to the suicidal person. Honestly listen to them.

Maybe if they listened to them they could help the suicidal person find some solutions.

By the same token, mental illness is not always curable and if the general population could learn to understand that and learn to handle that more friends and loved ones might be able to learn to accept death by suicide, or, more accurately, death by mental illness the same way they are able to accept deaths caused by terminal physical illness.

The pharmaceutical, psychiatric drug market must be too lucrative to ever hope that this could ever happen. As long as these companies and mental health industry continue to profit the mantra of suicide prevention will go on and on.

 

[ormaybeyoucouldchill]

I recently talked about this with my mother. She said she would be okay with terminally ill people committing suicide because they're most likely going to die in a very painful way.

She said she wouldn't be okay with depressed people committing suicide because she "knows" that there are depressed people who got better.

I told her that there's no way to know if they actually got better. That they probably can't bring themselves to commit suicide with the frightening/painful options that they have, so they're basically trapped.

Her response was simply, "Lots of people feel trapped." As if that's not another reason to commit suicide.

 

[fox_wannabe]

Oh yeah totally. People understand cancer more than depression, and cancer is not anybody's fault. Depression can be caused by abusive parent, who by acknowledging son's depression would have of acknowledge his mistakes.

 

[WaitingForTheBusInTh]

Absolutely. I look at it like this: let's say I have a broken bone. It is visibly very broken and causing a lot of pain. People keep telling me it's not broken, I just need to take an advil, I'm overexagerating, etc.
That's the way mental health gets treated. Because if people can't understand that you can't just save your way out of poverty, how can they understand mental anguish they don't experience. People lack an ability to empathize and sympathize with those who have different experiences from their own.

 

[Brayu]

Of course

 

[irememberinnocence]

I am losing the battle against a potentially fatal illness. It's too risky for me to tell people that I want to end myself though. When I've hinted in that direction, people are not understanding of my quality of life concerns or my desire to avoid a long slow painful death and the loss of my autonomy. My country does not have laws that support my wishes and my illness has not been diagnosed as terminal as yet. If I don't kill myself what will most likely happen is that I will be pressured into continuing to take futile treatments for it (futile because they prolong life rather than enhance it) and eventually I'll be too physically weak to resist. Other people pressuring me has already begun, don't want to get to the next stage. Yes I'm determined to take myself out before that can happen.

 

[Dot]

Sufferers of physical/terminal illness imagine not told are 'overthinking' it.

 

[Chockles]

People understand depression more than rare disorders that have a variety of illnesses & symptoms. I've had physical conditions all my life but never been taken seriously. Here's a chill pill that'll fix you. Since when does a chill pill fix a regular dislocated arm from a connective tissue disorder. Last time I spoke to pain clinic they told me take an anti depressant or you'll just have to learn to manage your pain. If I could manage my physical pain anxiety & depression wouldn't be an issue. Medication & talking therapies are simply not fit for purpose I've been on all available in the UK.

 

[PDAnnie2610]

Even when it's a physical condition that's not fatal but would result in a decline in quality of life and access to opportunities, others would not consider that pain to be sufficient for the termination of life, even if the said condition is not curable or treatable and will cause increase in pain and suffering over time.
Add that (osteoarthritis) to bpd, anxiety and pcos (Anxiety and infertility) and it's really not a life worth living.