Why is suicide selfish?

[Whole-Ad]

Why is it selfish for me to kill myself and hurt the ones I love, but it's not selfish for those who love me to force me to stay while I'm hurting? I did not choose to be here, it's not my fault. Why should I be so ashamed of not wanting to be here when I didn't ask to be?

 

[WornOutLife]

Well, I think it's selfish because you will literally ruin the life of all those who love you.
In my case, my dad has had a great life but once I'm gone, his life will be hell. In other words, the fate of his life depends on me because he will be happy if I'm happy but if I ctb... damn, I don't even want to imagine that.

 

[Life_and_Death]

its not logical thinking. theyre hurt and just trying to make it stop, just like we are.
do you know anyone that has or wants to commit suicide, how do you feel about it? most kind of have an urge to stop them. while i do i suppress it. not completely, i make sure they are sure of themselves and ill listen to their stories to see if maybe i can offer some advice but after that, i try to ignore it. who am i to say anything when i too want to be left alone to my peace.

 

[Whole-Ad]

I understand that but I'm hurting so much and I really don't want to be here anymore. I agonise over how my parents, especially my mother, will feel once I ctb but I know that over time their pain will start to diminish. Mine on the other hand won't and the thought of another 60 years or so on this earth is hell.

 

[!WILL!]

I used to think suicide was selfish but at this point I don't care. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Either way I still want to commit suicide. It could be considered selfish to reproduce when adoption is an option but yet it's socially acceptable to do so. When you've been brought into life with no choice and decide to leave by your own volition it becomes a problem. I don't feel like trying to justify my decision anymore.

 

[Life_and_Death]

I understand that but I'm hurting so much and I really don't want to be here anymore. I agonise over how my parents, especially my mother, will feel once I ctb but I know that over time their pain will start to diminish. Mine on the other hand won't and the thought of another 60 years or so on this earth is hell.

yeah that can be a problem. thats why, since i saw it mentioned here, i have been thinking about seeing if i can sign up for MAID. im hopeful that it will help them to understand that, i just cant anymore. however im not sure how i feel about waiting a few more years

 

[SweetDreams500]

Just own it. No one is entitled to my presence or my life.

 

[GreenTree]

I Don't think its selfish. I don't want to burden my family. So its unselfish really. Also how can it be selfish too do the scariest thing ever ctb.

 

[LastLoveLetter]

I don't feel it's selfish. It's okay for someone to want autonomy and choice over the direction their lives take, especially if they are suffering.

If we were to stick with the concept of suicide as a "selfish" act. Is "selfishness" really that wrong? Is it really so awful? Surely everyone is selfish to some degree. Very few people do literally everything exclusively for others without ever thinking of their own desires, needs or interests. I actually think that it's okay to not be selfless, especially when it comes to your future and the rest of your life. Because ultimately, you are the one having to live this life. Not your family, not your friends - you.

If I'm selfish for wanting to have a choice about my own life and wanting to die with dignity on my terms instead of dying from illness/old age/accident/murder because that suits everyone else (except for me, the person actually living this life), then so be it.

 

[Tintypographer]

I've always felt that the selfish part is projected by people who are still alive. I imagine that if I'm gone I won't have those thoughts or feelings and will finally be free of the depression and suicidal ideation that makes me feel so bad. I think that everyone left behind will feel I was being selfish but I can't help that. My only feeling is to make the pain and depression stop.

 

[watchingthewheels]

Because it's literally in the name, "suicide": sui- "of oneself"

Etymology of "suicide" by etymonline

"deliberate killing of oneself," from Modern Latin suicidium "suicide," from Latin sui… See origin and meaning of suicide.

www.etymonline.com

suicide (n.)​

"deliberate killing of oneself," 1650s, from Modern Latin suicidium "suicide," from Latin sui "of oneself" (genitive of se "self"), from PIE *s(u)w-o- "one's own," from root *s(w)e- (see idiom) + -cidium "a killing," from caedere "to slay" (from PIE root *kae-id- "to strike").

Probably an English coinage; much maligned by Latin purists because it "may as well seem to participate of sus, a sow, as of the pronoun sui" [Phillips]. The meaning "person who kills himself deliberately" is from 1728. In Anglo-Latin, the term for "one who commits suicide" was felo-de-se, literally "one guilty concerning himself."

 

[killedbypsychiatry]

Maybe it's is, I don't know, but forcing a person to stay alive when they are suffering so much and don't want to be here, just because of your ideals and feelings is also selfish

I personally just don't want to hurt my dad and twin, I really don't want to :( maybe it's selfish to a degree to ctb but I also think it's a bit selfish of them to force me to be alive when I'm hurting so much

 

[JustAMatterOfTime]

It isn't. The suffering of a suicidal person has to be 9 or 10/10. Grief for a dead person is no where near this. If anything it is selfish to expect someone to live just so you don't have to take some time out of your life to grieve for a bit.

 

[Sprite_Geist]

It is not selfish.

Now for the sake of argument: if suicide is selfish then so are those that expect you to carry on living for their own sake, as well as all of the people who have hurt you while you were alive.

 

[Odwin]

It is is selfish, so it is other people forcing you live further.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Everything is selfish. Even acts of altruism are usually done to satisfy one's own sense of guilt, ego, or some other emotional aspect deeper than surface-level basic needs. Suicide is selfish in the sense that it is something you're doing to yourself.

 

[blue_muse]

I can understand the pro-life point of view because to them, especially when they're loving and supportive types, it's devastating to hear a close friend or family member say they want to end their life. However; in the instance of unloving and unhelpful types, they lose the argument to say suicide is selfish because it's often their wish washy approach to the suicidal person that contributed yet cry the loudest come funeral time.

 

[LunarPyotr]

I personally don't understand this statement. Does it matter if we decide to flip the life switch to the off position or let the fate decide it?
I don't think so.
So, I wouldn't care if it's selfish or not.
It's better not to suffer than continue living a painful life unless you're a machoschist ( or however you call that)


Also, it's really annoying how certain religious books try to scare us from killing ourselves by telling that we will suffer in hell or will be reincarnated and have even a worse life than before.
Yeah, how do they know that and why does every "holly book" say different stuff about suicide?

 

[lostmyself]

They say that suicide ends the pain of the ones whose life is lost but those who were loved carry on the pain. Having often times we are our number one priority and no one knows the pain an individual feels.

 

[Supersadmommy90]

Well, I think it's selfish because you will literally ruin the life of all those who love you.
In my case, my dad has had a great life but once I'm gone, his life will be hell. In other words, the fate of his life depends on me because he will be happy if I'm happy but if I ctb... damn, I don't even want to imagine that.

You're absolutely right,. Living for your dad's happiness, or for the happiness of your family, is a good enough reason to live in all honesty. People in our families DO depend on us for their happiness, this isn't "selfish" of them, it's only natural that people depend on each other emotionally. This provides me with a strong incentive to continue living personally because my love for my family is greater than my pain. Unfortunately for me! But really though....

 

[Whole-Ad]

I wish I could be strong enough to stay just for my family but I'm not. I love my family more than anything and when it is my time to ctb I will make sure to do everything I possibly can do to lessen their pain and help them understand why and that it is in no way their fault. It's my fault and my fault only. I'm weak and not made for this world. I've already gotten rid of all of my friends so that there are less people affected. I wish it was just as easy to cut off your family.

 

[Charaltontin]

Why is it selfish for me to kill myself and hurt the ones I love, but it's not selfish for those who love me to force me to stay while I'm hurting? I did not choose to be here, it's not my fault. Why should I be so ashamed of not wanting to be here when I didn't ask to be?

I believe the same things why do I gotta stay here with everyone else just cause they want me to..if I wanna go I wish they'd just except that sometimes, I feel Soo bad and hurt for leaving them but it's what I want, that's the only thing stopping me

 

[Snatsbats]

Well, it might be selfish to kill yourself, because it will definitely hurt some people, but your parents were also selfish to create you for their own entertainment, so both are equally wrong. But i will be dead and wont have to deal with it anymore

 

[Worndown]

Why is it selfish for me to kill myself and hurt the ones I love, but it's not selfish for those who love me to force me to stay while I'm hurting? I did not choose to be here, it's not my fault. Why should I be so ashamed of not wanting to be here when I didn't ask to be?

It probably depends on what side of this death you are on.

 

[HenryHobkins]

Pretty much everything you do in life is selfish in some way, but not all selfish acts should be considered immoral or wrong. It depends on the circumstance.

 

[EDMisgood]

I really hope they will forgive me for my selfishness or forget about me after my ctb

 

[DunnoWhyButYeah]

I think it could be selfish, but in good way. That still isn't whole truth, because some people like me also think it's better for other people too that I'm not here anymore. I think it's right decision for me and others, after that I don't feel anymore like I feel now ( that's the selfish part) and everyone else will be happier after all when I'm not around anymore.

I don't know why so many think it's bad thing, well I know but still don't agree. They are selfish too, they want me to be alive because them; no because I want.

 

[A Desperate Fool]

My wife said she was leaving me to be selfish and because she didn't want to feel guilty anymore.

Now it's my turn to be selfish. I wonder how she's going to make out with that whole not feeling guilty thing after I'm gone?

 

[ClairyFairy]

People think it's selfish because they perceived it to be a conscious choice. Sometimes mental illness is terminal, what else can I say?

 

[Phoenix]

It's not, forcing an unhappy person to live is selfish