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Fuck it. I've tried to normalise talking about autism so may as well try the same with suicide and depression. Sick of the whole world tip-toeing round it like it's contagious.
There is a general attitude that suicide is cowardly, or evil, or just bad in some often indefinable way. This is probably a throw back to religious attitudes, where such an act was seen as against God. This has been, let's be charitable, disastrous for everyone.
Everyone agrees that the world is a horrible, scary place, but admit that by saying you'd rather not be involved, thanks, is apparently something to feel dreadful shame over. Like you're a moral failure fof being browbeaten by existence.
How dare you feel so low, the world seems to mutter. How dare you feel beaten by all this. You'll upset people. You'll make other people sad.
You honestly couldn't make it up.
You honestly couldn't make it up.
The world goes out of its way to make suicidal people *ashamed*. Literally the most corrosive possible emotion to could cause a very depressed person to feel.
And we do it on an industrial level!
And we do it on an industrial level!
It's the epitome of kicking a person when they're down. If someone is communicating that they want to end their life, then you must not allow shame into the damned equation. That's just another insurmountable negative to contend with.
Almost anything else would be better. Understanding, compassion, tact, kindness etc etc. Are they so hard for someone who is dealing with an actual, honest to goodness existential crisis?
But society moves so slowly. Its so engrained that suicide is a failure on the part of the individual, that it's hard to change. But suicide ideation and action is not a failure on the part of the person. It's a social failure - a failure of society.
Or at least that's my take on things. Been living with it a bit recently and it's tough. Feeling a bit better now, hence me writing about it. Take a leaf out of @matthaig1 's book I suppose.
