Correct age to decide to die?

[Anxious_Panda]

I just saw an Amber alert go out in my region for a 10 year old girl who basically ran away to commit to suicide.
It got me thinking.. Is there an age line to where one can competently decide you're truly done with life? I mean, clearly, 5, 6 or 7 year olds don't understand the concept of death and what dying truly means. But at what age do you believe one can truly make the decision to not live anymore, while understanding the good and bad that comes with that? And if there magically was a right to die, medical assisted suicide mental health clinic, what is the youngest that a patient should be to be accepted and or helped? Should one HAVE to wait until 18 or 21 to have a peaceful CTB such as this?

#foodforthought

 

[AnxietyAttack44]

I dont think depression asks for our legal adult age, to be in sync with us being allowed to legally drink alcohol and marry.
But its really hard to know.

Sometimes youre young and you know your life might be shit. Sometimes things could change. Things could get better even for 50 year olds. Doesnt mean theyll change their decision.

But its hard to know what to think about 10 year olds suicide. Most kids of that age i know and knew already attempted suicide atleast once. Or atleast prepared their method.... I might ask them for advice as a 11 year old irl i knew had full suspension noose ready in her barn. Her parents knew, dw i didnt just leave her with that

By the age of 14 half of my classmates attempted od, wrist cutting or drowning. Im still confused how did 14 year old have access to heroin. So were all the adults.

Weird subject. Cant tell kid to be happy and make him ignore his troubles. There should be a way to fix that but, hey, im here too so i cant do much. Other then not let kid hang himself infront of me atleast, or at all.

I guess it would be best tho if people allowed themselves to give life a chance for a couple years. Atleast till some ooint in adulthood. As an adult you can see if there is chance for improvement or not. As a kid.. I think they should just play or have fun as possible. Leave ctb for later. If possible

Just my rumbling thoughts, dunno if anything i said makes any sense

 

[KiraComplex]

obviously, younger kids like 5 or 6 dont know the weight of death or consequences. but i do think that a younger kid/young adult is capable of knowing "suicide", not just the definition and what school counselors write you up for.

ive been basically born depressed, i was unlucky in the genetic lottery. my first attempt was 11, and i have a couple deep self harm scars on my waist and arm from when i was 13. people think of depressed kids as "trouble makers" and that its "a phase/too much phone/not enough outside" when in reality, its a mental illness and should be treated as such.

i think i went in a tangent but my point still stands :(

 

[limpingtowardfreedom]

There's no magic number, every person is different and every life is different.

But it's way, way later than people think it is most of the time.

 

[Anxious_Panda]

I dont think depression asks for our legal adult age, to be in sync with us being allowed to legally drink alcohol and marry.
But its really hard to know.

Sometimes youre young and you know your life might be shit. Sometimes things could change. Things could get better even for 50 year olds. Doesnt mean theyll change their decision.

But its hard to know what to think about 10 year olds suicide. Most kids of that age i know and knew already attempted suicide atleast once. Or atleast prepared their method.... I might ask them for advice as a 11 year old irl i knew had full suspension noose ready in her barn. Her parents knew, dw i didnt just leave her with that

By the age of 14 half of my classmates attempted od, wrist cutting or drowning. Im still confused how did 14 year old have access to heroin. So were all the adults.

Weird subject. Cant tell kid to be happy and make him ignore his troubles. There should be a way to fix that but, hey, im here too so i cant do much. Other then not let kid hang himself infront of me atleast, or at all.

I guess it would be best tho if people allowed themselves to give life a chance for a couple years. Atleast till some ooint in adulthood. As an adult you can see if there is chance for improvement or not. As a kid.. I think they should just play or have fun as possible. Leave ctb for later. If possible

Just my rumbling thoughts, dunno if anything i said makes any sense

You made perfect sense! Thank you for your input. <3

There's no magic number, every person is different and every life is different.

But it's way, way later than people think it is most of the time.

This is very true. All people have different maturity levels at different points in life and differing views on mortality. Thank you for your input. <3

obviously, younger kids like 5 or 6 dont know the weight of death or consequences. but i do think that a younger kid/young adult is capable of knowing "suicide", not just the definition and what school counselors write you up for.

ive been basically born depressed, i was unlucky in the genetic lottery. my first attempt was 11, and i have a couple deep self harm scars on my waist and arm from when i was 13. people think of depressed kids as "trouble makers" and that its "a phase/too much phone/not enough outside" when in reality, its a mental illness and should be treated as such.

i think i went in a tangent but my point still stands :(

I agree. I'm of the thought that while young kids know depression, I think it comes with time and certain level of maturity and life experience to truly understand the ramifications of suicide. I think mental health treatment needs a SERIOUS overhaul. And fast.

 

[person123]

Euthanasia should be available to all, cuz you don't know what someone else is feeling.

 

[Fedrea]

I don't mean this to be patronising but I get the sense a lot people on here are pretty young, teens and under 25s. Yes you cannot judge someone's suffering. But suicide is only logical, and not tragic, when suffering is truly intractable, when the person has no chance to change

And in some of the posts here young people are troubled by things like isolation, no girlfriend or bf, no job, living with a bad family. These things can and do completely turn around with age for some

 

[TAW122]

While there is no universal age for when one is allowed to decide when to die, there are a few organizations that do have some age restrictions such as the ability to order the PPH from them through Exit International. One has to be 50 years of age as well as of sound mind.

Then there is an age where one would be legally considered an adult, and in the US, it is age 18. At age 18, a person in the US is legally considered an adult, thus having the ability to buy tobacco products, vote, sign legal papers, enlist, and have full rights as any other legal adult and no longer considered a minor.

With that said, I personally believe that if one is of legal age, where one is classified under the law as an legal adult, able to make his/her own choices with regards to many decisions (including the one to enlist in the military, to serve one's country) and more, then he/she should be able to decide whether he/she wants to continue living or not. While there are people's lives that are terrible under the legal age, it would have to be a case by case basis and under heavier scrutiny than to simply allow someone who is a minor to gain access as easily. This is simply because during one's adolescent years, he/she is more impulsive and there is still a reasonable belief that there could be changes in his/her life that may allow him/her to change his/her mind. So for example, if a teenager (say 14 years of age) wishes to die because his/her life is miserable, I would say that he/she should give life at least some chance to improve and at least wait until age 18, this way he/she would have exhausted just about every option before finally going through. Another thing, like @Anxious_Panda said, teenagers haven't lived enough of a life to truly understand the ramifications of suicide. Most teenagers oftenly live at home and haven't been exposed to the real world as much as adults (sure there are some who have jobs and work while going to school), so their experiences in life as still immature compared to someone who has at least reached adulthood and/or of legal age. I think that once someone reaches legal age as an legal adult (age 18 in the US), they would have more rights and more freedom than the average teenager still under their parent's roof. They are (by law) treated as an adult and from that point on they do get to experience the things that most other adults do, hence they are able to then better decide whether life is for them or not. So by setting that minimum age at 18, they are able at least give adult life a chance and then with that information, they are able to decide whether life is worth it for them or not.

Of course, however, if said person was suffering immensely like having a terminal illness or even a horrible life, then there would be special consideration (through family and doctors' of course as the person is still a minor) in allowing that person to exit his/her suffering.

Note: Keep in mind that I am not saying that people shouldn't have a right to die, but when it comes to age, I do believe that there has to be a cut off/line in order to prevent abuse and/or make sure things are kept in check. Other than that, once someone is of legal age in the country that they are in (for the US, it is 18), then they should be free to make the decision.

 

[Deleted member 17949]

I'd ctb regardless of whether people thought my age was correct really

 

[rhiino]

As a kid.. I think they should just play or have fun as possible. Leave ctb for later. If possible

The problem in todays world is, that kids often don't have the chance to be kids, to play, have fun etc. They are put in school to learn often useless stuff all day and are often too exhausted by the time they come home to do anything healthy. Furthermore their natural desire to be active, to move is completely supressed in school in the name of discipline.

I don't mean this to be patronising but I get the sense a lot people on here are pretty young, teens and under 25s. Yes you cannot judge someone's suffering. But suicide is only logical, and not tragic, when suffering is truly intractable, when the person has no chance to change

And in some of the posts here young people are troubled by things like isolation, no girlfriend or bf, no job, living with a bad family. These things can and do completely turn around with age for some

I don't get it what's up with people's obsession about the chance to get better when it comes to suicide. What about the pain that the person has to endure until they get better then? What if you knew you would get better in a decade, but have to endure tremendous amounts of suffering until then; would you say one should stay alive then, is the pain you have to endure until then not worthy of a suicide?
After all we will die someday, so we could also just stay alive in case something changes. But, as you mentioned yourself, they do not change for everybody. You never know if you will really be better, but you know that you, for now, will be suffering.

 

[Anonymoussn]

Euthanasia should be available to all, cuz you don't know what someone else is feeling.

I mean, you've got to draw the line somewhere though, right? Surely a five year old wanting euthanasia is a dangerous concept?

I think that whilst some teenagers are perfectly capable of making informed decisions, it would be best to just draw the line at 18. Kids are going to change so much throughout their development, I think it would be unwise to allow them to make use of legal euthanasia, on the grounds that a 15 year old is going to change so much over the course of the next three years that things may well change significantly for the better.

 

[GoodPersonEffed]

clearly, 5, 6 or 7 year olds don't understand the concept of death and what dying truly means

We can't know what others know.

I have read many stories of children who went through such horrific abuse that they sought death to end it. That means they understand death is a permanent ending. I've often argued that suicide is in some cases a survival instinct, and this would be one such example. Instinct comes before cognition.

My grandfather died when I was five. Other children's relatives die. Pets die. Of course I didn't understand the finer points from a perspective of consciousness, only what I was told, but it's difficult not to grasp the finality of death when someone or something dies. If children aren't told outright lies about death, it becomes evident that death means the body is permanently dead, and the person or animal will not come back in that form ever.

 

[person123]

I mean, you've got to draw the line somewhere though, right? Surely a five year old wanting euthanasia is a dangerous concept?

I think that whilst some teenagers are perfectly capable of making informed decisions, it would be best to just draw the line at 18. Kids are going to change so much throughout their development, I think it would be unwise to allow them to make use of legal euthanasia, on the grounds that a 15 year old is going to change so much over the course of the next three years that things may well change significantly for the better.

I think euthanasia should be available for all, freedom for all is more important, than some impulsive people dying prematurely.

 

[KiraComplex]

I think euthanasia should be available for all, freedom for all is more important, than some impulsive people dying prematurely.

sacrifice children for freedom?

 

[person123]

sacrifice children for freedom?

Everyone should have the right to die, how they use that right, is up to them. Age doesn't matter. Also, I don't believe there will be mass suicide of children, a lot of children want to live.

 

[lostangel]

I think 18 should be the minimum age. There is a good chance that person has been feeling suicidal for years so it's not like things are likely going to change for them.

 

[Starcitty]

I don't think it should matter. Some times I regret not ending it when I was 10 years old. Even if you stop them when they're young there's still a chance they are still suicidal.

 

[happy?1270]

It's a what if question and this is kind of a what if answer. But what if It was some kind of age like 16, 18, or 21 however but to make sure you understand the decision and what it means, you'd have to 'register'. There would be a set time (maybeee 6 months?) you'd have to think about it before you could, and maybe a requirement of a few counseling sessions. Then after that time you could be euthanized. Of course this would be in that "what if" we had the right to die world. It would be some kind of rational legal (in that what if universe) way to do it

 

[HappyMstake]

Personally I feel like 18+ should be the age that you should be able to decide, but then again some younger people go through some horrible stuff. It's a very hard question to directly answer cause everyone's gonna have a different opinion on it.

 

[Anxious_Panda]

I just saw an Amber alert go out in my region for a 10 year old girl who basically ran away to commit to suicide.
It got me thinking.. Is there an age line to where one can competently decide you're truly done with life? I mean, clearly, 5, 6 or 7 year olds don't understand the concept of death and what dying truly means. But at what age do you believe one can truly make the decision to not live anymore, while understanding the good and bad that comes with that? And if there magically was a right to die, medical assisted suicide mental health clinic, what is the youngest that a patient should be to be accepted and or helped? Should one HAVE to wait until 18 or 21 to have a peaceful CTB such as this?

#foodforthought

Thank you everyone for all your input. <3 Its nice to be able to have a mature conversation on a topic like this. Take care all. <3

 

[SoIntoYou]

Euthanasia should be available to all, cuz you don't know what someone else is feeling.

Yes, nobody should feel bound to this world against their will. This world is not worth living in, especially for people who don't have an internet connection and a website they can go to to talk about depression.

 

[Living sucks]

My answer is not based on being and adult or minor ... i think it's situational.

for ex. I think a somewhat normal childhood but depressed child/person should wait until at least full brain development (25 yrs old) to see if things change. Should do everything possible before ctb.

however a child born into a horrific situation, ie sold into sex slavery, or abusive underage marriage, any unbearable situation you can think of who feels the only option is ctb, then that might be the best for them.

For those somewhere in between, absent parents, mental/phystcsl abuse, MH issues etc.. it's a greyer area but I still think all possibilities should be explored before ctb.

Reasons for ctb should be considered. A relationship breakup shouldn't be an impulsive reason but it's a common one.
It makes me think of @OldGod who ctbd over the family finding out he had a romantic encounter with the daughter of the family and felt there was no way to get passed it, but he didn't give the situation any time to see how it was going to go. It was heart breaking. So talented and passionate.

Anyway I always felt life was worth living and giving everything you had to it... then I got sick and lost everything and have no life. And I'm here

 

[Fenty(nal)]

27. 27 Club and what not.

 

[BridgeJumper]

Im not sure to be honest.
Some people will say its not until a person reaches maturity (25, or at least 18 y/o). But I first wished I was dead when I was 13, and wanted to die ever since. Not once between 13 and 18 did I make up my mind and decide to live.
So it wildly depends on a person (Im sure Im not a freak and there are people like me out there)