Robin Williams
July 21, 1951 -August 11, 2014
In regards to the suicide of Robin Williams, there has been much in the news today about how depression played a role in it. A point I keep hearing from people, not in the know, is that suicide is selfish. It's actually a selfLESS act.
A person with depression feels that taking their life would actually be a burden lifted from your shoulders, not theirs. They are always thinking about the people around them and how to ease their fears and make their lives more comfortable, not their own. Taking themselves out of the equation is sometimes the only choice.
Depression acts as a dampner for emotions and it's makes it hard to think clearly. Every thing seems wore than it is. suicide sometimes is the only way to to end all that confusion and pain. Since you can't ask someone who commits suicide why they did it, ask someone who struggles with it. I think you will find that it's not as selfish as you think.
A person with depression feels that taking their life would actually be a burden lifted from your shoulders, not theirs. They are always thinking about the people around them and how to ease their fears and make their lives more comfortable, not their own. Taking themselves out of the equation is sometimes the only choice.
Depression acts as a dampner for emotions and it's makes it hard to think clearly. Every thing seems wore than it is. suicide sometimes is the only way to to end all that confusion and pain. Since you can't ask someone who commits suicide why they did it, ask someone who struggles with it. I think you will find that it's not as selfish as you think.
In his book “Myths About Suicide,” Psychologist Thomas Joiner deconstructs the myth that suicide is cowardly or selfish.
“It certainly seems selfish from the outside,” Joiner told NPR in 2010. “I understand the sentiment. But the trouble is, in trying to reason about the suicidal mind from a non-suicidal place – that’s basically where most of these myths come from.”
“What the suicidal person is thinking at the time is actually quite different from selfishness. Their idea is along the lines of, my death will be worth more than my life to others,” he explained. “Now, if you ponder that sentiment, that’s not selfish at all. In fact, if anything it’s the opposite. It’s very selfless.”
Please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 if you or someone you know is suffering. Operators are available 24/7.
