What are the biggest risks on Sanctioned Suicide?

[noname223]

I once posted a thread with the title: "Is being on Sanctioned Suicide one of the most dangerous things you do in your life?"

Is being on Sanctioned Suicide one of the most dangerous things you do in your life?

I think there are different levels of this question. Media would say the biggest risk if you spend time on SaSu is that this suicide cult convinces you that suicide is the greatest thing ever. And then you kill yourself because this forum convinces you of that. Personally, I almost killed...

sanctioned-suicide.net

When I searched for this in a search engine I was surprised this thread is one of the first threads the search engine will show you. They interpreted as being on SaSu is dangerous because it might drive you to commit suicide. Though, this wasn't really my main connotation. My main fear was we all end up in jail one day. Or that there was a court trial for people on here. I feared that when the NYT published an "investigative research" on this forum. I quit the forum for a week. Returning pretty quickly because I felt so alienated in other online spaces.

I might have the cognitive distortion that my emotional intensity and perceived urgence massively influences my consideration of probabilities. And it is also an availability heuristic /bias. It is a cognitive shortcut where the brain estimates the likelihood o fan event based on how easily examples come to mind. I experience periods of panic circles. I fear about one scenario a lot, cannot think of something else, then I lose the interest in that or simply a different fear comes to my mind. In most cases I catastrohize events and social interactions.

As I read in the American libertarian outlet Reason (https://reason.com/2026/05/15/u-k-targets-u-s-suicide-forum-with-massive-fine-itll-never-collect/) most of the things that happen on here are legal in the US. I am not sure whether this applies Europe too. Personally, I try to stay out of method discussions and according to a chatbot (not sure whether one should trust that in this instance) this is enough for not being held accountable legally. Personally, I don't have a strong position on this issue. I benefit from this website massively and I take the risks. I tried to post a lot in recovery as resources for other people in the past. I ran out of positivtiy eventually though. I think I am very law-abiding citizen. And personally I worried way more about getting into legal trouble for being on here than I feared that it drives me to ctb.

The risk the media envisions I am not sure. And from what I read from scientifical sources the empirical evidence how this forum impacts the suicidality of members is ambigious. It is too easy to assume correlation = causation. I think in general this forum has various effects on different members. The purpose of this forum varies among individuals. I think there are some members that see the only purpose of this website as a suicide method register. Personally, I hope more people would see positive social effect why this forum can comfort suffering people by providing a community. On the other hand, some people say they are running out of borrowed time. And I don't want to judge them. I can see why some people say this forum was repetitive and a negativity echo chamber. For me I have to follow some rules to increase the positive impact of this forum on my mental health. I read the suicide discussions only in small dossages. If people say this forum has a negative impact on their mental health they should try to search for a different community. I think this is even said in the rules or an official thread.

I think more about different risks on here. I think it is risky to form close social bonds on here or wanting to find the love of one's life on here. Actually, I know a former member that found their significant other on here. Though, I don't think this is the usual outcome if try to do that on here. The more common pattern is: intense and short connections that feel really unique because on here we can actually open up. There is no stigmatization for being suicidal whereas on dating apps it is a red flag. Sometimes these people have suicide pacts or one of them is more uncertain than the other one. One partner goes through and the other one wants to follow afterwards. I imagine this to be really rough. And actually I think this is the biggest risk on here. Forming social connections and then having to experience how real life drives some members to kill themselves. Personally, I try to maintain a certain distance to members on here. And for me this is the most healthy approach. I don't engage in private conversations a lot anymore.

And what a good crossover to the next risk. Bad apples on here. The vast majority of people on here have good intentions in my opinion. But due to the nature of the internet a place like this one attracts people who want to take advantage of vulnerable people. Personally, I have the golden rule I don't exchange personal information or change the platform with anyone on here. I talked with some people in private conversations in the past. The exchanges were not that long and I changed my policy on it after a while. I stopped doing that because I was too overwhelmed when members on here were acute suicidal. I had many interesting conversations but there were 2-3 members that turned out to be shady/bad apples. And I avoided some trouble because I didn't exchange something identifiable with them.

I think it is dangerous to meet people from here in real life. And the argument I am suicidal what should happnen isn't though-through. We all know there is way worse than death in this world. One traumata doesn't mean you cannot get traumatized further. Always try to have in the back of your head that it is risky to meet people in real life after short exchanges on the internet. This is also why I dislike the partner thread.

I think this foum in sum does more good than bad. Though, the users need to reflect on themselves to minimize the risks being on here. I think the awareness for being responsible on here also increased within the years. I think the forum did some progress in the past to address these issues. But as always users also need to be careful. Many on here are unstable and we should try to imagine what it is like to bein the shoes of someone else on here. And many people on here are extremely kind and empathic. In constrast to the rest of the toxic social media platforms where bullying is a common response for showing vulnerablitity. And some of the risks mentioned on here also apply to other platforms.

What do you think?

 

[dragonofenvy]

I do think that surrounding yourself with other people who have severe mental problems can only end badly. Especially if you're spending hours per day feeding your negativity like I used to. On the other hand, having a community of people who are like you helps you not feel alone, which was the original reason why I came here in the first place, along with trying to find a way to kms, of course.

If I look at this site objectively, I don't think it's a healthy place. For all the talk about not being pro-suicide, I've seen countless discussions of people assisting with suicide. I know because I participated in them. Sometimes I was dissuading them, sometimes I was happily sending them a goodbye. I deeply regret the latter. Unfortunately in places like this, that is the culture and anyone going against the grain as I have seen others do in the past (and I have tried to as well) isn't well received. As much as people try to deny it, there is a very unhealthy amount of groupthink going on. You can see this in the goodbye threads both the public and private ones. People are validated for attempting to kill themselves. Not exactly a good look. At the time of writing this a new one has just popped up.

Do I think this forum causes massive amounts of suicide? No. Do I think this forum helps with suicide? Yes. But you have to remember who the audience is. This site is for people who are already deeply entrenched in their mental issues. While it can provide comfort, I've found that you're not going to get out of the trenches by staying here. I especially despise the idea certain members have regarding therapy/medication and how it "doesn't work." One of my first posts was about how therapy ruined my life. I am now of the opposite opinion. I think that telling people that mental health resources don't work is extremely dangerous and I wish I hadn't self-radicalized myself against it back then.

I will note that despite this, having a community where people can freely vent their frustrations, talk about their suicidal ideations, and find peer support among like-minded people is a great thing. Many people have voiced traumas they've experienced here because nobody else would listen. For the most part as well, the community is kind and I don't really see much bullying going around which was pretty surprising to me when I first joined, though there are rare instances where certain big incidents occur. I think I was actually a compounding factor in a few of them back in the day.

With all of this, I'm torn. Because I simultaneously view the site as unhealthy, while also providing an outlet for people. I came to this site to vent a bunch of things, get gratification from trying to help others, then left, only to appear off and on again. Did it help me? Yes. Did this site harm me? Also yes. Do I care if people kill themselves? No. I think it is their right to do so, but I also think they should take the time to really assess their situation and try to get support before taking that step. That's my plan anyways.

TLDR: There's pros and cons. I think many people do find benefit from a place like this. Others will use it to feed their own negativity because it's what they're used to; they're not ready to take the steps to improvement. I was (and still am) one of those people, though things are gradually getting better.

A site like this only exists because the broader society doesn't care enough about the issue. That is a condemnation of them, not us. At the same time, I also understand that it is not the responsibility of the normal, well-adjusted people to try to take care of people like us, hence why spaces like this need to exist.
I don't think the average user wanted to have their life come to the point where they make posts on here, at least I didn't.

At best, I caution anyone using this to be careful with what they say, especially so you're not held legally liable for your words. Also, don't meet up with people irl here. Seriously. Don't, no matter how kind they seem.