Is suicide selfish?

Poll

Is it?

Me and @Arieisit began to argue if suicide is selfish, he assumes it to be selfish because depressed people don't care about the feelings of their loved ones

In my opinion, I don't see suicide as a selfish act because depression isn't by choice, you can't just choose to develop depression, its something which changes your life and sometimes supposedly "loved ones" actually make depressed people feel suicidal and depressed people are most definitely not weak individuals.

What does TSR think? Discuss

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Reply 1

James222

No its not
Suicide is a last resort for people who cant cope.

Its only selfish if your fighting a war or your family is under huge debt and you abandon them

Reply 2

8472

I've been there. It is not selfish.

Reply 3

TARS

As with everything, it depends on the circumstances - if they have living family members who love them, then it is.

Reply 4

cake_lover

I used to think it was just plain selfish. But when you're at that low point with no hope, you can't think straight and you're not rational, people could end up making decisions without being able to think it through properly.

Reply 5

somemightsay888

People who say that have often never come anywhere near experiencing what it's like to want to do it, nor will they ever understand the reasons why.

Reply 6

Duskstar

I don't know about suicide, but homicide is selfless :yep:

Jokes aside, I think it is - this might make me sound like a prick, but my opinion on people that commit suicide is that it is completely their responsibility, and they're stupid, wasteful, and selfish if they do go ahead with it. You can't honestly expect me to believe that dying is better than living. (I'm leaving aside the case of euthanasia - I think that's very different)

Reply 7

Claudiawalker98

As a whole, no I really don't think it is. However, I think it does depend on the circumstances.
Depression is not the only reason one may want to commit suicide - for example, there's a range of mental illnesses that can cloud judgement or be so unbearable that the individual feels as though the only option left is suicide. I think people should be more understanding of those who are suicidal, however I appreciate that this isn't always practacle.
On the other hand, however, there's lots of people who attempt suicide for purely selfish reasons. I know of someone who had an overdose, not to commit suicide but so that they could then blame others for it, in a way to be able to manipulate and emotionally blackmail those around them.
If somebody is genuinely at a point that they feel as suicide is the only way out, I don't think it is at all selfish. It is one of the hardest decisions to make, and I have full sympathy for people who think it is the only thing left.

Reply 8

TheGreatImposter

When you're contemplating suicide you're not doing it hopes that other people will miss you whilst your gone or what they would do without you because I think those who are depressed genuinely think that they're alone and they'd be better off dead. They aren't going to think of how they're friends or family are going to cope after they die. You can argue it's selfish for every one else to expect you to live because they have an emotional bond with you.

I'm sorry I didn't explain that very well :colondollar:

But to answer your question, whether or suicide is selfish is dependant on which angle you look at it. The person who has lost someone due to suicide or the person who is going to commit suicide.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 9

Wahrheit

Haven't seen any argument to say it's not selfish yet. Even if you want to justify suicide, it's something which is done for the benefit of self at the expense of others (close family). It undeniably causes grief and other negative emotions to other people to get a positive benefit for yourself.

I'm not attacking suicide or depression, but I don't think you can argue it's not selfish, unless you're dying to save somebody else. Not two weeks ago I was at the funeral of someone I know who committed suicide, and the effect it has on family is undeniable. It could even be argued that suicide of a close relative could trigger depression in them.

I am fully aware of how awful depression is, and I support people having the right to die, but I honestly don't see how you can say it's not selfish.

Reply 10

Alaric III

It's not selfish so much as usually short-sighted. Because even if everything does go to **** there will always be some little golden nugget somewhere down the line which is worth living for. Probably quite an ignorant thing for someone to say who has never seriously contemplated it before, but after helping many of my friends get through similarly difficult times I think it's justified.

Of course suicide is a totally different question to euthanasia.

Reply 11

Joshale

No, it's not selfish, as I'm sure most people who have felt suicidal have thought about their families and what effect it would be on them, furthermore some people are suicidal because they think people don't care, so if they think their family don't care then they won't put them into consideration.

Reply 12

Duskstar

Original post by Alaric III

Exactly my thoughts on the matter ~

Reply 13

moment of truth

People that have never had suicidal thoughts normally say it's selfish. If you have been in that mindset and have seriously thought about suicide and you know how you feel when you think like that, you know that it isn't selfish.

Reply 14

Ripper Phoenix

no its population control

Reply 15

Wahrheit

Original post by Alaric III

Reminds of what my dad said on suicide recently, 'nobody ever gets to 60 and says "I wish I killed myself when I was 15"'

Reply 16

SuckMeBeautiful

I don't quite understand why people care if it's selfish or not; it's almost like people wondering if homosexuality is natural or not... who cares?

Reply 17

Wahrheit

Original post by moment of truth

So your argument for it not being selfish is that you feel really really bad? But that's entirely selfish, it's using your own self interest as a determinant for behaviour. That's whay selfish means.

Reply 18

shooflea

It's a really hard subject to classify as selfish or not.

Original post by James222

No its not
Suicide is a last resort for people who cant cope.

Its only selfish if your fighting a war or your family is under huge debt and you abandon them

I agree with this, if you're in a situation where other people are dependant on you, and you on them, suicide can be a very selfish choice. If you're leaving other people to deal with problems that you were part of, well it's a really messy situation and suicide will make it a lot harder for everyone else involved.

On the flip side, people who commit suicide to escape their OWN demons, thats a completely different thing. Depression, anxiety, any kind of mental health problem is so difficult to live with, and when you get that low, there's no rationality behind your actions. Yes it will be torture to those who care about you, but i personally see no selfishness in wanting to free yourself from the hole that mental illness drags you into.

Reply 19

sparkletoo

Death is a possible consequence for depression, as much as it is for other diseases such as cancer.
You wouldn't think a cancer patient who dies is selfish for having succumbed to their disease and passed on (and quite rightly so) - the same can be applied for people who commit suicide. Just as some cancers takes away your ability to remain healthy and alive, some depressions take away that ability too - albeit not in exactly the same pathophysiological process.
So no, it is not selfish. It's selfish to have the view that it is selfish, on the other hand, just because it's hard for you to deal with what their suffering caused them to do.