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Why we need to stop using the term “committed suicide”.
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The term “commit suicide” stems from the idea that suicide used to actually be a crime and super stigmatized. The crime part has religious roots and how “committing” the sin of suicide will send you to hell.
By continuing the language of “commit suicide” we continue to perpetuate the idea that there is something inherently illegal and immoral with the people who have lost their battle with the depression, etc.
Suicide is not someone being willy nilly about wanting to kill themselves. It is someone who has been struggling with a very real illness, such as depression (or others). And we need to start acting like it.
You don’t “commit death by cancer”. You die from it. Mental health is just as important as physical health. And once we acknowledge that, the stigma can be lifted, and more and more people will be willing to talk about what’s going on. And, suicides can be prevented.
If you want to refer to suicide, just refer to it as “suicide” or “died by suicide”. I know to a lot of people this is just semantics. But understand that words have meaning, and ultimately, we want to help those who are struggling with thoughts of suicide.
