Why We're All Suicidal
I have always known since I was five that death is a basic thought that comes in everyone's mind. People hate their lives sometimes, they just want to die. It's simple, isn't it? No, because there is something more to our tendency of hating our lives not everyone sees...
Strong Exterior
Now, our strong exterior is a dead layer. I hate to admit it as a person with a hard shell myself, but it could really be pretty lifeless in a certain level. Some people forget about balance that they never allow themselves to strip free from that tough cover at least once in a while. Also be warned that this tough exterior does not only come as a literally strong character, for it also comes with an extremely soft facade that is actually utilized at its maximum as a form of silent weapon. Now, people with this delicate nature are usually the ones who find it difficult to just lay bare that they miss out on the pleasures of life that keep a person alive.
Basically, being tough and tender should always come together. When they don't, those who are too tough feel like death is the only solution to their lack of tenderness while for those who are too soft, they wish death upon themselves living the life where they choose not to brave the wilderness out there. Therefore, our perceived emptiness in life is not emptiness at all but rather an imbalance in decisions we ourselves make.
Death's Role
Life is all about that imbalance, and death has always given us the idea that all ends lead to new beginnings. Take the Christian view of death for example--you die and you either go to heaven and live happily or go to hell and still live but with endless suffering. However, death still remains a mysterious concept despite the ideas engraved in this society by the widely known Christianity. That space for skepticism is what makes each of us suicidal.
Meanwhile, death could be just anything a person perceives it to be, thus it is easier to invest on it. To hell with the complicated pursuit of balance when you're already dead on the inside anyway, right? Still, what-could've-been's are a strong influence as well, so a lot of us still choose to live.
Very interesting and good post... Keep posting
intriguing & embracing!
I wouldn't say all people are suicidal! I think people get tired, even fed up, with the challenges of life at times. But there's a bit difference between being legitimately suicidal and contemplative.
In Psychology, a mere thought of wanting to kill yourself is already considered as being suicidal because it means the thought is there and it's just a trigger to actually do it that's missing.... There is no such thing as "legitimately" suicidal or if there is, it's too narrow a concept that could actually undermine mere suicidal thoughts that are honestly the seeds of the unexpected tragedy.
Actually, unfortunately, this isn't true.
Suicidal ideation is quite common, but it's a long way from thoughts to actions. While suicidal ideation is itself concerning, it doesn't make someone automatically suicidal. When we do a suicide risk assessment we look at things like mental health conditions, plans, protective factors, access to means, prior attempts, family history etc. We use all of this to determine if someone is at a risk of committing suicide ("suicidal") or simply at the step of suidical ideation.
Of course, suicidal ideation alone is enough to trigger further counseling and support, but it's not enough to say someone is suicidal. You're right that these thoughts (or "seeds" are too often overlooked) but to say everyone who's thought of the concept of suicide or getting away is suicidal is similarly dangerous. We know from quite large bodies of research, that the more we normalise suicide, the higher rates get. Teens who've been close to people who kill themselves are more likely to also kill themselves, even when we correct for mental health issues and other risk factors. When the media reports a suicide as a "successful suicide" we get much larges spikes in suicide rates than if it's simply reported aas "suicide". There are fairly complex concepts, but understanding and using them gives us more weapons in our arsenal to fight suicide and suicide attempts.
Hope that makes sense.
It does make sense, and I would say this is a matter of how we each have our own measurement of what the term really means or what being suicidal really is. Therefore, I respect and agree with your opinion but I'm still sticking to how I used the term in my article as it is based on my scale :)
Of course! :)
Thanks again for the article!
You're welcome! Follow for more :)
Greetings! Good well thought out post!
Death is an interesting thing to me because I perceive it as at least being real. These perceptions and concepts of the ways that we as a civilization live by are all fake but necessary in life to hold society and ourselves together. When that experience is no longer important, one can either choose the lie or choose death. I'll admit, I have thoughts of suicide all the time, but I'm too cowardly and I wouldn't want to put my children through that after having already lost their mother.
Thanks for sharing! :)