Posted by August (208.161.103.136) on August 29, 2001 at 11:01:54:
In Reply to: You forget I live with a sufferer posted by Ree on August 29, 2001 at 10:15:43:
I said this was nothing personal against you. Colin has a very good point in what he says. We can't hear each other's tone of voice or body language. If you could hear mine you'd k now i'm not attacking you. I'm explaining why i disagree with you. I wanted you to be able to please open your mind to how it would feel to be in that situation by comparing it to a prisoner being tortured in their home. This is the way i write. I am a passionate person when it comes to things i believe and care deeply about. Suicide is one of those things. Whenever someone comes to the board and talks about suicide i take it very seriously. This is someone's life we're talking about. To me all life is very precious. I"m not saying it isn't to you. I'm telling your where i'm coming from and why i'm posting about this.
I have a degree in philosophy and psychology. I've been a counselor and i've worked on a suicide help line. What you said about it being selfish is wrong and it's dangerous. I'm going to speak out about it because it is.
I had a friend who committed suicide too. She reached out for help. She was told by her friends that she was trying to get attention, and the same things i'm dis-agreeing with you about...saying it's selfish. She killed herself, and it still brings me to tears when i think about how i didn't know enough then to see she needed help. It's not selfish, it's a person who doesn't want to die. They just want the pain to stop. Suicide is a dramatic subject, ....sorry but Cluster headaches to me are too. I've lived through horrible things in my life, but i'm still here. Cluster headaches is the worst of the most horrible. What i described in my post is what i go through...what i'm going through right now. That isn't drama to me...it's a nightmare i live every day. But i'm still alive and i'm still fighting. I try to encourage people whenever i see they are hurting and feeling like they're losing the battle. I'm fighting!!! There are times you get battle weary and when you need help you should be able to ask for it without being told your thoughts are selfish.
I told you why i disagree with you. I know you support your husband and live with watching it on the other side of the fence.
I respect you for that. Please think about this and don't say someone is selfish for thinking about suicide.