[Imperatrix]

I recently came back from a funeral that had a profound effect on me. My cousin (who was raised as my sister) lost her 15 year old son to suicide. The boy was definitely an INTX and was also diagnosed with high-functioning autism (the savant kind). Not only do I have memories of babysitting him (changing diapers, laying down with him so he will nap, reading, coloring pictures) my son has been diagnosed with the same type of autism.
Funerals do not normally affect me, I am generally stoic publicly, but this trip I was a mess and even now I am still thrown. I just can't make sense of it.



So my question is, for those who wish to share, have you ever considered suicide? Why? What kept you from doing it? Did anyone you know/love take their own life? Did they leave some sort of clue as to why?

[Beyond_B]

Well I attempted suicide 3 times,what stopped me is the thought that I would hurt the people I care for,that I will die anyway and that if I died then I wouldn't be able to achieve my goals...

[Ngg]

Crossed my mind a few times when I was going through hardship, but I never seriously considered it. I enjoy life way too much :)
Quite the opposite, I'd say I'm scared of the thought of dying at a young age.

[Kyuu]

The thing about suicide is that it's often linked with (axis I) mental illnesses. If your brain chemistry changes, that changes you think and makes you act in ways that you wouldn't able to justify rationally, no matter what MBTI type you are.

[Maethirion]

I've gone through depression and I've thought about suicide, but I have a low tolerance for pain, and I guess I always viewed suicide as a cowardly way to end things, no offense. It wasn't so much that I would be hurting others, because at that point, I was stuck in this frame of thinking that feelings were only superficial and that nobody really, truly cared about anything. I don't know how to explain it. My experiences with depression would certainly be different than others though, and people view suicide differently.

I don't think suicide has much to do with the NT personality traits so much as the I trait. It is well-known that Introverts are more likely to become depressed than extraverts, but there is no causal relationship between the two. There are certain things that need to be present, but the most important is mental imbalance. It could be depression, schizophrenia, or any other condition which would interfere with how an individual perceives the world and the self. A mentally healthy person would have no reason to commit suicide, and they certainly wouldn't think of suicide as an option. This brings to question what makes someone mentally healthy, but I can't give any definitions, but we all have our own perception of what is healthy. Neurologists have been able to isolate suicidal tendencies to the frontal cortex of the brain. People who commit suicide lack basic functioning in that frontal cortex which would normally prevent them from practicing destructive behaviors.

Suicide is still a very misunderstood field, and each case of suicide has different influences. It's hard to make any assumptions about it when so many questions are still unanswered. Here is an article that may interest you. It discusses Suicidal Tendencies and Brain Chemistry.

Health Report - 5/11/01: Suicidal Tendencies and Brain Chemistry

[Mr.Xl Vii]

For some strange reason it's a thought that comes into my head a lot. When I was a little bit younger it's something that I contemplated doing a bunch, and for some strange reason I dont see my life ending in old age, whenever I think about how I'm going to die, it's usually from suicide.

I used to be way more inclined to actually do it. Ironically, I lost the inclination to go through with it when I stopped believing in God and became an atheist. When I stopped believing in an afterlife, it simultaneously made me cherish this life and realize that death is eternal rest. So it removed the stigma of having to experience hellfire for killing myself, but it made me realize I dont really get another chance so I might as well see this thing through.

I've gone through depression and I've thought about suicide, but I have a low tolerance for pain, and I guess I always viewed suicide as a cowardly way to end things, no offense. It wasn't so much that I would be hurting others, because at that point, I was stuck in this frame of thinking that feelings were only superficial and that nobody really, truly cared about anything. I don't know how to explain it. My experiences with depression would certainly be different than others though, and people view suicide differently.

I never understood this mentality. Sure suicide is "giving up", but in no way is it "cowardly". It takes balls to kill yourself. Try even inflicting pain upon yourself, your mind wont let you do it. We're like programmed for self preservation, suicide is the ultimate cheat code. I've never thought of it as a "cowardly way out". I always thought of it as the balls to take matters into your own hands. Honestly, if you've hated life up until a certain point, I dont think it's going to magically get better.

I mean all of this without trying to offend.

[Ngg]

I always thought of it as the balls to take matters into your own hands.

Yes and no. The act of suicide itself is definitely one of the hardest things to do for a human considering our instinct towards self-preservation. Now is it really the bravest? I dunno... I think trying to deal with shit that comes your way and improving your life is often not only more logical but also shows more character. I'll make the exception for terminally ill and total paralysis patients, and extremely old people who wish to 'leave' sooner.
Of course, these matters are subject to each's personal ethics...

[Mr.Xl Vii]

Yes and no. The act of suicide itself is definitely one of the hardest things to do for a human considering our instinct towards self-preservation. Now is it really the bravest? I dunno... I think trying to deal with shit that comes your way and improving your life is often not only more logical but also shows more character. I'll make the exception for terminally ill and total paralysis patients, and extremely old people who wish to 'leave' sooner.
Of course, these matters are subject to each's personal ethics...

I agree sort of. I'm not the kind of person that condones killing yourself over something stupid like your SO dumped you, or you dont know what to do because all these bills are piling up. However, if you wake up one day and you're like "Fuck, life sucks and it doesn't look like it's getting any better", then I think you gave it a shot and all the best to you.

[skycloud86]

I don't believe I have ever thought of taking my own life, at least I haven't done so whilst seriously considering the act itself. I tend to have a rather strong will to live, so I suppose I would not consider suicide myself anyway unless I really could not bear to live any longer.

Personally, I think the only situation I would want to end it myself would be if I was unable to look after myself - if I was elderly, and began developing Alzheimer's or some other similar condition, I would most likely commit suicide at around the time I was losing the last of my autonomy and ability to look after myself. Also, if I was in some sort of accident or had some devastating illness/disease that ended up with me in a hospital bed for the rest of my life, unable to even think due to being in a deep coma or sever vegetative state, I would want to die (I believe that euthanasia should be legal, to allow those who are terminally ill or in vegetative states the right to choose when to die and to be able to die with dignity).

[Ngg]

I agree sort of. I'm not the kind of person that condones killing yourself over something stupid like your SO dumped you, or you dont know what to do because all these bills are piling up. However, if you wake up one day and you're like "Fuck, life sucks and it doesn't look like it's getting any better", then I think you gave it a shot and all the best to you.

Except if you're not thinking about it rationally because of chemical brain imbalance (what Kyuu pointed out). Then what, are we going to let you do it because you have the right to decide your own fate? It goes back to the age old debate of neurology on depression, trying to distuinguish what is environmental (my life is shit) from what is physiological (my brain chemistry is out of whack).