Some Thoughts on Suicide

I was hospitalized 3 times for suicide, and diagnosed with major depressive disorder. The days I spent in hospital being restrained were incredibly painful, and it made me wonder if the measures we take today for people who choose suicide are actually helpful.

Suicide intervention

I think ‘suicide intervention’ is utter hypocrisy.

People who choose suicide surrender their lives to nature in exchange for freedom from endless suffering, but those who perform so-called ‘suicide intervention’ programs deprive them of this last hope. Some even resort to even more despicable means, using various methods to block the path to death-restricting access to medication, installing higher guardrails on bridges, and so on.

People have indeed reduced the number of deaths—a wishful thinking that aligns with their own expectations. However, the underlying causes of suicide don’t disappear. Furthermore, even after undergoing ‘suicide intervention’, people are often closely monitored to prevent further suicide attempts-especially in institutions like schools and hospitals. This leaves those who choose suicide trapped in a spiral of pain, unable to die.

‘Guilty’ suicide

In this article, we will not discuss religious concepts, but only the society’s attitude towards suicide.

Most people born after 2000 can understand and respect suicide, but some people before that cannot. They generally condemn people’s suicide on the grounds because ‘it is disrespectful to the family’, they say this to their kids too (I get told this all the time).

What led to this kind of thinking in the past?

I think it was because people in the past had a low standard of living and could not accept the loss of family members.

However, since ancient China, there has been the idea that ‘children do not have to be responsible for their parents.’

What is the true nature of the bond between father and son? Tracing it to its origin, it is nothing more than the fulfillment of desire. And what of the relationship between a child and their mother? It is like an object entrusted to a bottle; once it is removed, the connection is severed.

—The Book of Later Han

Therefore, everyone is only responsible for his or her own life, and there is no reason for an individual to be bound by such things.

Conclusion

I believe people are, and should be, free to decide what to do with their lives. This article isn’t meant to advocate suicide, people should still think twice before committing suicide. But when the pain becomes greater than the desire to live, they can always choose to refuse the pain.