"Suicide Contagion"

[hurts2b]

Some people say that suicide is contagious, that being exposed to it makes you more likely to kill yourself too. This is often given as an anti-suicide argument. Killing yourself may cause others to kill themselves.

I don't necessarily agree, but I'm curious about your perspectives on this.

 

[RinneOfAragon]

I think contagion can be a thing. There's some areas where there are clusters. I don't think that's a reason to stop me now. I did worry about my younger family members but the suffering I'm going through is just too great. I probably could give a more thoughtful answer but I'm a bit all over the place tonight.

 

[Lamentice]

Everyone is responsible for their own choices. All my life I have been told I am solely my own responsibility, no one else is responsible for me; likewise I am not responsible for other people and their choices.

No one has ever come to help me, it's my responsibility to sort through and handle all my own shit, and if I fail that's my own shit too, but I am supposed to bear the burden of other people's lives despite the fact they would never--have never--done the same for me? Right.
Hypocritical, double standard, bullshit.

 

[DeathfulEnd]

I believe suicide is definitely contagious. In my experience at least. A member of my family committed suicide then another one followed then another and if its my turn is never far from my thoughts.

 

[coolcow1289]

It's very contagious. It's an "idea virus". Someone does it, and then other miserable people who never considered it, are then forced to reckon with it as an option. But you prevent that with media training and being careful how you talk about it.

 

[Passenger4224]

I've seen some ppl on this forum who are suicidal because a loved one CTB'd. But some of them were already depressed to begin with. I'm not really sure what I think.

 

[Oiled Sandwich]

I use their logic against them. If suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, they can have fun dealing with the temporary problem of suffering due to me voluntarily ctb. I grew up believing in the rose-tinted glasses view of how the world is all about peace and love. After actually seeing how a lot of stuff works, I am now a frustrated realist looking to escape the system.

 

[dust-in-the-wind]

In the US they usually don't put local suicides in the news(unless someone famous) because of the contagion factor. Recently where I live there was an incident where a son killed his mother and then he jumped from a bridge and killed himself. It was all over the local news because of the murder part. Now no one had jumped from this bridge in years but the following week someone else jumped. I don't think that is a coincidence. I think if someone is suicidal and not sure on the method or fear of failing and they hear of a successful suicide that may be all they need to attempt the same way. However, I don't think hearing about suicide is going to turn someone suicidal. You either are or your not. So it all depends on how you define "contagion".

 

[Lost in a Dream]

If it really is contagious, then I wish I could spread suicide everywhere so everyone does it. Life is just a horror show of a nightmare and there's no way to escape from it except through death. Even then, it depends on who you ask, because some people think we're either reincarnated or sent to Hell which to me, both options are evil if there is a creator.

There really is no hope in this life and the possibility that we could continue to exist is always there after death. I'm an efilist and that means I want everyone to die because I genuinely believe it would be better if no one existed.

 

[Tobacco]

I remember reading a blog in the introduction post to this forum and it definitely said something about ctb contagion. That's still a citation needed though.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I doubt suicides make other people suicidal to begin with- unless they were connected to that person. Although, I can see how they give other people the confidence to attempt themselves. Both in practical terms- they got a method to work. And morally- they did it, so why shouldn't we? I suspect there is something in it but, only in as much as it likely encourages already suicidal people to actually do it.

 

[JeyJeyOfJeypore]

Yup.

But we cant talk about it anywhere else. So pick your poison

Gotta die some day

 

[hdead]

Suicide in family lineage is definitely a thing. I've read in several books that it can run in the family, so to speak.

 

[whatsleftover]

i've seen small bursts of suicides in my country within a short period of time (3-5 days), it's notable because my country is small and suicides aren't common.

 

[Gustav Hartmann]

Science knows the so called Werther-Effect.
When Goethe puplished "The Sorrows of Young Werther", a novel where the protagonist shoots himself in the end, a series of suicides followed allegedly.

 

[burninghill]

I think it makes sense to an extent. The more you hear about something the more accessible it seems. I mean, some people might not even consider that suicide is an accessible option for them if they only hear about a celebrity suicide every few months.

Hearing about suicide infrequently really does make it feel like a distant concept, you might know that people kill themselves but not consider that that's something YOU could do until it gets closer to you, if that makes sense.

 

[hmnow]

Some people say that suicide is contagious, that being exposed to it makes you more likely to kill yourself too. This is often given as an anti-suicide argument. Killing yourself may cause others to kill themselves.

I don't necessarily agree, but I'm curious about your perspectives on

Don't think it is contagious but knowing someone in your social circle crb'd mesms it is doable

 

[UserFromNowhere]

I think there is a general contagion, but it's not a causative disease like people mistakenly assume. When we use disease metaphors for social phenomena, we're often wrong about the mechanism. For example, it's not a "disease" when an athlete breaks a record and others find themselves able to reach a similar level of skill, they don't magically acquire some new physical trait, they gain understanding and technique through observation.

Similarly, the rise in trans-identifying people (or queer people in general) isn't some social force or disease "turning people trans/queer." As acceptance grows, individuals feel permitted to express their internal identity. A "suicide contagion," if such a thing exists, operates in a similar vein, it's not that people feel compelled by suicide, but rather they recognize the possibility itself.

The crucial element of human psychology here is the knowledge that something is possible. It's not merely observing someone else's action that matters; it's knowing we possess that capacity. Whether this fundamentally improves lives, or merely manages suffering, remains uncertain.

It feels like there's worse actual problematic behaviors we'd be better off addressing first, things where people do take it as a sign to join in because it's been made acceptable or to conform to the herd. Consider political divisiveness, when one side performs a revolting action (such as mocking an opponent or marginalized group) and others follow. Or, for instance, people bullying others because they see another person targeting someone else and decide to join in. These are actual issues where the behavior is spread through others doing it rather through internal feelings. People can always try to rationalize these behaviors, politicians or bullies may claim they're just "saying what everyone believes," but that is rarely true.

I think addressing these broader pathologies should take precedence over focusing solely on suicide contagion. Yet society appears more invested in containing this single symptom than grappling with the underlying causes of feeling worthless or trapped.

 

[Ashu]

I think the normtards should not presume to lecture us on how to deal with existential states that they have no fucking concept of.