New Study from the WHO: One person commits suicide every 40 seconds »

One person commits suicide every 40 seconds — more than all the yearly victims of wars and natural disaster — with the highest toll among the elderly, the United Nations said Thursday. In its first report on suicide, the UN’s World Health Organisation blamed intense media coverage when celebrities kill themselves for fueling the problem.

The Robin Williams effect, perhaps?

There is a certain bit of parallel thought I have on this matter. On one hand, I think suicide is so unfortunate and if people just gave themselves an extra few minutes in the heat of the moment they could avoid making that final decision. But on the flipside, there is a part of me that says we should not, as fellow humans, judge the circumstance and, in a sense, the decision in literally in the hands of the people who commit the act of self-murder..

This story reminded me immediately of what Art Bell wrote on his Facebook page after Williams died at his own hands:

“In my opinion Suicide is not always a irrational act. Life is precious but not under all conditions which can only be determined by the person living it.”

I tend to agree with that sentiment. But at the same time, I think better mental health care in this nation and world would lead to more people not making the choice to take their own lives.

It’s a tough issue.. And I don’t hold myself as a person with any answers.
I can say this though: Knowing people who have attempted suicide and another who did commit suicide, it’s a terrible thing for those who survive to have to go through..the most painful part is wondering if there is just something more the living could have done to keep the now dead from succumbing to their own self-made fate..