Discussion Is Suicide Cowardly?

[Despondent]

I don't think it's cowardly. Mainly because death is the unknown. It takes strength to come to these terms and to go along with it. It's a "commitment" slightly. They know that there's no coming back, no matter what. Life isn't forever and death is. No escape.

 

[Soul]

I reckon it's just as cowardly to live.
What does that even mean??

 

[Shero]

Whatever you decide in life, it requires strengh. So no, it's not.

 

[Green Destiny]

To simply put it, no it's not.

 

[Glockman]

Thanks for the words, everyone. I've been a coward my whole life. I've been terrified of death my whole life. Maybe my last act can be my most courageous one.

 

[HereToday]

I hate when people (outside of the SS community) say this. Makes me want to say 'if it's so cowardly why don't you try to overcome your survival instinct and go into the unknown, then we can talk about how cowardly it is'!

 

[charlie_z]

I can only speak for myself, and as such I ask you take these meanderings with a grain of salt. But for me, suicide does carry elements of both cowardice and of courage.

As a species, we know the world is fraught with violence and pain; our neurochemical systems have adapted along with these pressures. Yes, there are some individuals who live in a kind of perpetual la-la land manufactured by market driven hyper-saturated environments. For these folks, and I'm referring to people who live in post-industrial nations where the standard of living far exceeds what was available 100 to 150 years ago, the world presented seems calm, organized, advanced in its laws and social mores. But that is just a very well layered patina that obfuscates the atrocities constantly plaguing the planet. The world, the one beyond the pretty neon colored signs, there exists much chaos and pain.

My cowardice is that I know longer feel able to subsist in the dual reality described above. I just don't wish to face those challenges anymore. In essence, I don't possess the courage to take on an increasingly insignificant existence.

As for courage, for me it begins with the realization that I've abandoned any hope of digging myself out of the hole I'm in. That's a form of acceptance, and it's acceptance that will eventually allow me to transition out of this reality. Acceptance also includes letting go; letting go of loved ones and places that have come to mean a great deal to me. Finally, the acceptance that there is no way to know what comes after. I fear it's simply oblivion. The show is over, the curtain comes down, and that's it, you're gone. That last bit for me, speaks of courage in the face of annihilation.

 

[Shero]

Thanks for the words, everyone. I've been a coward my whole life. I've been terrified of death my whole life. Maybe my last act can be my most courageous one.

You aren't a coward for being terrified of death. There is a reason the SI kicks in when you try to cbt.
Don't be so hard on yourself.

 

[waterbottleman]

Takes a lot of bravery to overcome survival instinct.

 

[Moonicide]

Absolutely not. Like many people have said, it actually takes a lot of courage to end your life. It is also one of the most powerful things you can do as you are taking control of your own fate.

 

[freedommatrix]

I don't think suicide is brave but neither do I think of it as cowardly. Just taking control over your destiny.

 

[thepolarbear]

Short answer? NO.

 

[Heart of Ice]

Yes.

Facing the pain and suffering of life is certainly more brave than choosing to end life.

But I choose to believe everyone here who have chosen to end their lives have made a rational decision. Whether it's "cowardly" or not does not really matter in the end, now does it?

 

[Sensei]

No matter how brave you are, sooner or later you simply must remove your hand from a hot plate. It goes beyond bravery and cowardice really. If you really want to help someone, try to turn off the plate or remove it. Don't simply tell them that they must try to stand the pain.