It can be done both ways.Buchholz101 said:As a disclaimer, neither me nor my friend mean any offense to anyone who has had unfortunate dealings regarding the topic of suicide.
The other day, me and my friend were having a discussion. Is suicide a choice that someone consciously makes due to extreme depression or hardship; or is it a response to depression?
By my definition, a response is a reaction to a certain event or circumstance, for example: a lit match falls into the woods, the trees catching on fire is the response.
A choice on the other hand, is a conscious decision made by an individual, for example: a man is lazy, and makes the decision to throw a lit match out of his car door window.
My belief is that suicide is a choice, my friend believes it is a response.
Escapists, you have the floor.
Ninja'd and far less condescending then i would have said.Vacancie said:Every choice is a response to external stimuli. In the same situation, a person will always make the same choice, so it is not a choice, but a response.
That's exactly what I was going to say... +1 to you sir!HankMan said:It's a choice someone makes in response to the perceived futility of their current situation. People don't chose to be depressed, they CAN choose how they deal with it.
Thank you ninja'ing me so I didn't have to type muchVacancie said:Every choice is a response to external stimuli. In the same situation, a person will always make the same choice, so it is not a choice, but a response.
yes it's illogical. when one is suicidal, his brain is not functioning properly, not allowing for other options. thus, for you to call it a choice is also illogical.Scout Tactical said:Suicide is illogical. It is a choice, and a poor one at that.
Jamboxdotcom said:as someone who has been there, it's not really either, but if i had to pick one, i'd say it's a response. when i was suicidal, there was no "choice". death was my only option. i can't speak for everyone, but in my case, and many, many others, it's basically a fugue state. all you can do is run down that hall till you get to the end. yes, it's fucking stupid, but that's the problem. there's a reason they call it a mental illness.
obviously my suicide didn't work out in the end, and i'm terribly happy for that now. but at the time, yeah...
yes it's illogical. when one is suicidal, his brain is not functioning properly, not allowing for other options. thus, for you to call it a choice is also illogical.Scout Tactical said:Suicide is illogical. It is a choice, and a poor one at that.
there's a lot more i could say here, but i can already tell i'm gonna piss off a lot of people who claim to know how other people's minds work, so i'm gonna bow out now. no point stoking the flames any higher.
Are you doubting that I'm Spock, or doubting my analysis?chach_face said:Thanks Spock (note the sarcasm)Scout Tactical said:Suicide is illogical.