Discussion Talking about death should be less taboo.

[Arvayn]

I'm not sure if this should be tagged as a vent or as a discussion, but I am curious to hear people's thoughts on it regardless and this is just to get my opinion out there.

After stalking around this forum, talking to people in countless servers and chatrooms, and even bringing up the subject in my own family, school and former workplaces, I've realized that there are a lot, and I mean a LOT of people who experience suicidal ideation, or have had it at some point in time. When I ask people, if they had the option to instantly and painlessly die right now, if they would take it, there's maybe a 50% chance that they say they would, and a lot of the ones that say they wouldn't claim that it's only because they don't want to hurt others in that way, or because of religious reasons.
I genuinely don't think there's even one social circle I've been in where there isn't at least one person that experiences suicidal ideation.

Death is omnipresent, and exists in countless people's minds one way or another. Unfortunately, cultural and sociological influences, especially due to religious indoctrination, have led to an attitude where it is seen as extremely taboo to talk about or to even consider, not to mention the fact that most people don't want to think about it regardless due to the thought of eventual non-existence being scary and unpleasant.

I know I'm stating the obvious considering what kinds of people frequent this website, but I feel like society is doing people so much harm by pretending that death doesn't exist. There would be so many individuals who'd benefit and end up much happier from being able to be open about their struggles without being ridiculed, outcasted or forced into abusive psychiatric wards.
I've also noticed it's an extremely common phenomenon that people who are depressed or suicidal often feel guilty of having committed some harmful or bad act, simply because they have been taught that it is a shameful and ungrateful thing to ever end up in such a position in the first place, and it just makes it even harder for them to recover because they opt to bury it and pretend it doesn't exist, until they reach their limit and it all comes spilling out in one giant explosion of feelings.

What a mess.

 

[moonlightbeach]

discussion, i think.

good observation, definitely see the same patterns in my circles as well.

in my experience people just expect you to recover and for suicide ideation to be temporary and during a depressive part of your life. as if it's a binary 1 for improvement and there's no other way around it. people don't appreciate when i talk about suicide openly. bottling up your feelings results in detrimental suffering.

from what i've learned, people don't want to talk about it because they're 1. too caught up in their life 2. are in a temporary distraction (live event, travel, date, etc. ), and that's okay. some suicidal people are traumatized by it because they hated that part of their life or think that it's in the past and there's no reason to talk about it anymore. some people just don't know what to respond - i notice that a lot of normies just ask about recovery and no other side of the story. it's understandable too because people want you to be alive and good.

some people do listen and come to the conclusion that they can just make your world better for a while and in the end hope you achieve peace and understand your decision.

putting a blog post about this entire topic about the idea of suicide never coming back and people just wanting you to recover and how it haunts people if you don't. will see how it goes but i wish that people go over it one more time.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I completely agree. I actually think being able to talk about it openly would save lives. Imagine, if the very first time you considered suicide- you felt able to tell someone? And, not have them get you carted off to a psyche ward. I think for a lot of suicidal people here, their ideation has been on slow burn for a very long time. Plenty of members here started having suicidal thoughts during childhood. Imagine if we'd had just a little bit more support at that early time? Would things maybe have gotten better, rather than worse?

Of course- the type of support is important too. There have of course been members here pushed into psychiatric 'care' from an early age- who feel it's done them more harm than good.

I still think being able to talk about it would help though. Just death in general too really. I think you're right. We just try and push death away but ultimately, we'll all be dealing with its repurcussions one day.

 

[Pale_Rider]

 

[FuneralCry]

Yes especially as we are all just going to die anyway, death is all that's inevitable, all will be gone and forgotten in death anyway which is all I hope for, existing is just waiting to die and I see so much cruelty in how people cannot just have the option to peacefully cease existing when they wish to, people should be able to decide when to cease existing, there needs to be a right to die.

 

[Nightfoot]

Death is the great unknown but everyone knows they're going to die and discussing it is a reminder of our own mortality which is uncomfortable. As far as discussing suicide, I think it's uncomfortable for people because they don't know what to or say, and I think it leaves a lot of people feeling helpless. Also, the influence of religion helps to keep suicide as a taboo for many.