Discussion Does anyone find people with depression criticizing those who kill themselves?

[ericwilkinson]

I always thought that most people with depression would sympathize with suicide but I've found that in some cases, they're the strongest critics of suciide. Particularly on Reddit with phrases like "I overcame depression and I think anyone who kills themselves is a selfish coward".

Anyone noticed this?

 

[Codieb1]

I really don't believe people like this ever truly had depression at all, honestly. It's just their way of telling people to get the fuck over themselves instead of offering actual advice

 

[a_strange_day]

I can totally understand that someone who has overcome depression, even for a short time, would think differently and try to help others, but I dont think that anyone who has ever been severely depressed would say something as stupid as "anyone who kills themselves is a selfish coward " they are fake

 

[Fadinglife]

I always thought that most people with depression would sympathize with suicide but I've found that in some cases, they're the strongest critics of suciide. Particularly on Reddit with phrases like "I overcame depression and I think anyone who kills themselves is a selfish coward".

Anyone noticed this?

Yep, i have noticed that too

 

[allgood]

Probably just situationally 'depressed' ie. sad.

 

[Hobbes]

I think it's very easy to turn it around and believe they are hyper-critical of suicide because that criticism is focused inward. They believe in and espouse such values because they don't want themselves to 'succumb' to suicide and that's what drove them through their depressive phases. Of course there's not an excuse for lashing out at others with blanket statements that trivialize their experiences, but even these people saying such things deserve to be heard and reasoned with and trying to find exactly why they feel the way they do. And of course, you can't be expected to go into a full therapy session with each random individual on Reddit. It's much easier to say they're an idiot and move on. I do it all the time.

I've lashed out at others for displaying qualities and attributes that I find contemptuous about myself. I've heard on this forum that there is not one singular way to be suicidal, that each person has a range of experiences and factors that contribute to their own unique situation. I think that also extends to depression. Of course, 'depression' has become a tag word for any bout of sadness that somebody experiences in our 21st century therapy lingo, but it's also impossible to see inside somebody's head at all their experiences and determine exactly if they're valid or invalid in their assessment of their own mental states. Saying that they're 'fake' or 'not depressed' because they made a tasteless comment like this in a vacuum such as a Reddit comment isn't very fair. Just like the things they're saying aren't very fair.

I would like the strength to treat each individual that says these things with reverence, and I always give others the benefit of the doubt. I'm trying to be compassionate and understanding, even when met with comments like this that devalue the experiences of others and try to take them down. If I could, I would like to speak with everybody that makes a comment like this and try and go through their life experiences to try and find out why they think the way they do. That's impossible, given my limited time on this Earth, an individual's unwillingness to open up to an internet stranger, and my own lack of emotional fortitude, but it's always a nice dream.

It's very difficult to talk about all of this because there's so many factors. I'm sorry for my lack of articulateness.

 

[SinisterKid]

I've found that in some cases, they're the strongest critics of suciide.

The "some cases" likely being a very small minority, nothing more.

 

[k75]

I have noticed that. I'm not defending the behavior, because I think it's toxic and repulsive. But I think people tend to lash out more when they recognize things in other people that they hate about themselves. It scares them and makes them feel threatened, so instead of trying to be empathetic, they just get mean.

 

[cryptic_cynic]

I see that sometimes. It's not surprising because most people are self centered assholes who think that just because they want to or can do something, everyone else should too.

 

[Suicidal4Ever]

I think the people who do that have been deppresed and suicidal for a long time. They see someone that has never had a suicidal thought a day in their life and wants to suddenly die and they feel it's rushed.

 

[wanttodie]

I have have been deppresed and suicidal for a long time for years