Just fitting into the typical psychological profile of a depressed individual is not the only reason for suicide. Often times, family will also justify the suicide by analyzing reasons why their loved one could have been depressed and sometimes end up blaming each other for that one last fight or that one last comment made that could have set them off. Everything found disagrees with this, and says that most of the time, the individual has their mind made up and although a fight can add to the problem, it is typically not the sole reason they decide to end their life.
One of the most interesting paragraphs of the book read while researching this paper was one written by J. Langone. He said, “Do not look for simple answers, for suicide is not so easily explained as some suggest. Instead, try to look behind the anecdotes that are presented, and ask yourself if what a suicidal person said in a note, or told a friend, is really the reason he or she chose to die. ” This statement is great because often, there IS a note but it does not really make sense as to why they would have chosen to die over something that could have been resolved.
Some suicide notes blame something like a break-up or bullying, or having their sexuality revealed to a high school of their friends. It leaves one to wonder if that is the only reason because those are all things that a person could get through and be happy again. This could be optimistic, but it does not seem like not anything could be so bad that anyone would want to leave their family and friends hurting in that way, wondering what they did. While researching for this paper, a site for a suicide prevention lifeline popped up.
It has a phone number that someone can call if they are contemplating suicide or even if the thought has crossed their mind just once and they are confused. It is a free 24 hour hotline that is available to anyone in emotional distress, and can even be called for someone that they are worried about. The call is then routed to the nearest crisis center to the caller. The suicide prevention line began in 2005 and in August received a record amount of calls, 57,625 to be exact. If this site was advertised on TV, maybe it would help even one person who was considering killing themselves.
Maybe if they saw this number flash across the screen while they were debating ending their life, they would call. The suicide rate of the U. S. has risen in the last couple of years, and it has been indicated that the economy has something to do with that. People are losing their jobs all over the world, and are worrying about how they are going to make their payments on time. Stress takes over when that happens and contemplation of just ending all that stress begins. I have felt the stress of not having a job the last month, and it is not one that I like having.
I am lucky and I have a fiancee’ who does have a job, and being that it is the military, it is secure, even with him being medically retired, we know that we will have money every month. I can see how this could be very scary to someone with children, not knowing if they will be able to provide for their families. Once upon a time, I never would have thought that losing a job could make someone want to take their life, but these days, that creates a desperate situation. “Virtually everyone who dies by suicide has a mental disorder at the time of death,” says psychologist Thomas E. Joiner of Florida State University and author of Why People Die by Suicide (Harvard University Press, 2005) and Myths about Suicide (Harvard University Press, in press for 2010).
“But there are millions and millions of people with mental disorders who do not die by suicide. ” This statement causes a person to think because I know a few people who have been treated for mental disorders, and the fact that they realized they could get help for whatever they were going through was a huge step. For the others who did not see that there was help available, it leaves question as to why.