NationStates Jolt Archive

I am a genarally curious person. Lately, I have noticed more and more kids my age committing suicide. Last week, one of my good friends blew his face off. I wanted to know what the general opinion of teen suicide is on here.

Against.

:rolleyes: <--- Pretty much sums it up.

Lets face it, killing yourself before you experienced anything but the introduction to life, is pretty weak. If it's a question of angst and not terminal illness, one has to be really melodramatic and self-absorbed to even contemplate it.

What opinion is there to have? Suicide is an awful, tragic thing.

But judging people who commit/contemplate suicide does nothing but worsen the problem and is just... sickening to me.

My (unfinished) webpage on suicide. (http://www.freewebs.com/understandingdepression/suicideselfharm.htm)

I think the movie Heathers showed us something very important about teen suicide. By making a big deal about teen suicide you end up encouraging it.

Probably best to just ignore the whole issue.

I think the movie Heathers showed us something very important about teen suicide. By making a big deal about teen suicide you end up encouraging it.

Probably best to just ignore the whole issue.
That's a fair point. At times, it almost seems like self-harm has been hijacked and turned into a counter-culture movement. Which is pretty sad.

^ Which says quite a bit about the situation, and perhaps a mod should lock the thread?

Nice site, Glitz. Good to see someone gets it. I bookmarked it, if that's all right.

I don't really understand the reasoning behind it. I hate having to deal with it, but it seems more and more common.

^ Which says quite a bit about the situation, and perhaps a mod should lock the thread?

Ignore the thread, not take free speech away.

Nice site, Glitz. Good to see someone gets it. I bookmarked it, if that's all right.
Thanks. And that's more than all right :)

I am a genarally curious person. Lately, I have noticed more and more kids my age committing suicide. Last week, one of my good friends blew his face off. I wanted to know what the general opinion of teen suicide is on here.

My opinion?? I'm all for it!!!! It's, like, totally cool!!!!

Seriously though, I think it's because of all the sucky numetal/emo type music. What we need is a NWOBHM revival.

I am a genarally curious person. Lately, I have noticed more and more kids my age committing suicide. Last week, one of my good friends blew his face off. I wanted to know what the general opinion of teen suicide is on here.


Well...it's probably frowned upon.

I don't really understand the reasoning behind it.
You wouldn't.
Unless you've experienced the depression or extreme cirumstances that lead to suicide, unless you've felt the extent of pain which makes you want to choose death over life... you won't be able to begin to comprehend it.

I think the movie Heathers showed us something very important about teen suicide. By making a big deal about teen suicide you end up encouraging it.

Probably best to just ignore the whole issue.


There's a difference between emo and depression. It's sad that you can't seem to understand that. Or perhaps don't want to.

Well, it's something very tragic. IMHO, it points to a global failure of society itself. Society fails to provide hope to its kids. It fails to provide them support when they need it.

Sure, most of the time it's over personal issues than teens commit suicide (broken heart, brutal parents, ...), but I do believe than in a more human, caring and sane society, those problems would be much, much easier to overcome.

For the teens who do commit suicide (or try to), I don't think we can blame them - everyone has a limit in the amount of pain he can whistand. Yes, it's a selfish act, as it hurts deeply the ones around them. But too much is too much. We should try to help them, comfort them, find solution to their problems, cure their wounds, and not blame or insult them.

My opinion?? I'm all for it!!!! It's, like, totally cool!!!!

Seriously though, I think it's because of all the sucky numetal/emo type music. What we need is a NWOBHM revival.


I listen to hard rock, metal, emo, and i don't have slits in my wrists. You cannot blame it on the music.

Seriously though, I think it's because of all the sucky numetal/emo type music. What we need is a NWOBHM revival.

Teen suicide existed long before emo, and will probably go on long after it's demise.

There's a difference between emo and depression. It's sad that you can't seem to understand that. Or perhaps don't want to.
Perhaps I don't care. Look, if a kid is seriously depressed put his ass on Zoloft or something. If a kid is acting out for attention then making a big deal about suicide makes him want to attempt it just so everyone will fuss over him and take notice of him. At any rate, most people are just worker ants. Interchangable and disposable. A few suicides is not a crisis.

Perhaps I don't care. Look, if a kid is seriously depressed put his ass on Zoloft or something. If a kid is acting out for attention then making a big deal about suicide makes him want to attempt it just so everyone will fuss over him and take notice of him.

I hope you get chlamidia from the pope. That would be degrading and funny.

Yes, it's a selfish act, as it hurts deeply the ones around them.
(from my website)
Some people would argue that people who commit suicide are selfish. Selfishness is to do something for your benefit and your benefit only. Suicide, in the eye of the depressed person, is not for their benefit and their benefit only. Sometimes it is a mixture of helping themselves and helping others. Sometimes the main reason for suicide is to protect loved ones.

Depression will make a person truly believe that people they care about will be better off without them. Depression will provide a person with examples of ways they've harmed other people and had bad effects on other people's lives. Depression is such a powerful force that it will convince a person that suicide is the best answer, not necessarily for themselves but for the people they care about.

A part of them may argue, when thinking of suicide, that it would cause pain and suffering to their loved ones instead of helping. However, depression will turn this thought against the person, making them question themselves and making them feel that they're being selfish and arrogant to believe that anyone could miss or care about them. Also, while that voice of reason is there at the start, depressive thoughts grow stronger and stronger until they are the only thoughts. When someone gets to that point, the objection of "but it will cause so much pain" no longer exists in their head and the only things left all support the action of suicide.

However much pain suicide does indeed cause, it is very rare that a person who commits suicide intends to cause this pain. In the vast vast majority of cases they believe they will be helping the people they care about.

I hope you get chlamidia from the pope. That would be degrading and funny.
That would be pretty funny. Thanks for the laugh.

IMHO, it points to a global failure of society itself. Society fails to provide hope to its kids.
I am not sure to what extent a society is obliged to provide 'hope'. That's a pretty abstract and subjective thing. In how much esteem is hope held? Hope is a crutch to some who would gladly accept it, a cruel and inadequate mockery to others seeking something more real. I don't think you can blame society for failing to strike a balance there.

Alot more people contemplate suicide than you think. Hell, I've done it, and a friend of mine took out the back of his mouth with a rifle. Some get through it, some dont. Some need help, and the only thing you can do is care.

I hate when someone says "oh its a cowardly thing to do". Id like to see them take a pistol and press it up against their temple and have the guts to pull the trigger. Pulling the trigger doesnt seem like something a coward would do, does it?

That would be pretty funny. Thanks for the laugh.

no, see, you get the degrading part and the rest of us get the laugh.

Perhaps I don't care. Look, if a kid is seriously depressed put his ass on Zoloft or something. If a kid is acting out for attention then making a big deal about suicide makes him want to attempt it just so everyone will fuss over him and take notice of him. At any rate, most people are just worker ants. Interchangable and disposable. A few suicides is not a crisis.


You're a very sick person. That's absolutely disgusting. Sure, just "put his ass on Zoloft" as you so callously put it. Great idea. Don't try to help or anything, that might require effort. Must be nice to be able to not give a shit about anyone but yourself. Unfortunately, not everyone has being self-absorbed down to an art form like that. I hope someone takes that attitude next time you need help of any sort.

no, see, you get the degrading part and the rest of us get the laugh.
No, you don't get it. Insult cannot be given, only taken. I choose not to take offense to your remark. Best wishes, Drunk Commies.

No, you don't get it. Insult cannot be given, only taken. I choose not to take offense to your remark. Best wishes, Drunk Commies.

fair enough.

I hate when someone says "oh its a cowardly thing to do". Id like to see them take a pistol and press it up against their temple and have the guts to pull the trigger. Pulling the trigger doesnt seem like something a coward would do, does it?
It's not a question of bravery or fear. It's a loss of grasp of reality. They're not brave or cowardly, they no longer know any better.

You're a very sick person. That's absolutely disgusting. Sure, just "put his ass on Zoloft" as you so callously put it. Great idea. Don't try to help or anything, that might require effort. Must be nice to be able to not give a shit about anyone but yourself. Unfortunately, not everyone has being self-absorbed down to an art form like that. I hope someone takes that attitude next time you need help of any sort.
Zoloft and other antidepressants ARE help. They've been found to work better than psychotherapy in many cases. I want the seriously depressed people to get the most effective help available. That happens to be antidepressant drugs.

As for those who act out for attention, I can't be bothered. Ironically, if more people felt the same way and denied them attention they wouldn't act out in that way.

Cruel to be kind.

You're a very sick person. That's absolutely disgusting. Sure, just "put his ass on Zoloft" as you so callously put it. Great idea. Don't try to help or anything, that might require effort. Must be nice to be able to not give a shit about anyone but yourself. Unfortunately, not everyone has being self-absorbed down to an art form like that. I hope someone takes that attitude next time you need help of any sort.


you are now on my "buy a cookie list". thank you.

(from my website)
Some people would argue that people who commit suicide are selfish. Selfishness is to do something for your benefit and your benefit only. Suicide, in the eye of the depressed person, is not for their benefit and their benefit only. Sometimes it is a mixture of helping themselves and helping others. Sometimes the main reason for suicide is to protect loved ones.

Depression will make a person truly believe that people they care about will be better off without them. Depression will provide a person with examples of ways they've harmed other people and had bad effects on other people's lives. Depression is such a powerful force that it will convince a person that suicide is the best answer, not necessarily for themselves but for the people they care about.

A part of them may argue, when thinking of suicide, that it would cause pain and suffering to their loved ones instead of helping. However, depression will turn this thought against the person, making them question themselves and making them feel that they're being selfish and arrogant to believe that anyone could miss or care about them. Also, while that voice of reason is there at the start, depressive thoughts grow stronger and stronger until they are the only thoughts. When someone gets to that point, the objection of "but it will cause so much pain" no longer exists in their head and the only things left all support the action of suicide.

However much pain suicide does indeed cause, it is very rare that a person who commits suicide intends to cause this pain. In the vast vast majority of cases they believe they will be helping the people they care about.



Glitzi, don't bother, dear. They don't want to get it, because then they'd lose their sense of superiority.

I think it says something about human society that people would end their lives to get out of it.

Glitzi, don't bother, dear. They don't want to get it, because then they'd lose their sense of superiority.

This is also a good point.people want to be on top. assholes.

They don't want to get it, because then they'd lose their sense of superiority.
And the whole "you will never understand it" thing isn't a superiority complex? It is defensive at the very least.

It would be great if it occured more often.
When those annoying 13 year old girls cut for attention, we would be better off without them.

It would be great if it occured more often.
When those annoying 13 year old girls cut for attention, we would be better off without them.

we need to beat them with sticks.

Well, it's something very tragic. IMHO, it points to a global failure of society itself. Society fails to provide hope to its kids. It fails to provide them support when they need it.

Sure, most of the time it's over personal issues than teens commit suicide (broken heart, brutal parents, ...), but I do believe than in a more human, caring and sane society, those problems would be much, much easier to overcome.

For the teens who do commit suicide (or try to), I don't think we can blame them - everyone has a limit in the amount of pain he can whistand. Yes, it's a selfish act, as it hurts deeply the ones around them. But too much is too much. We should try to help them, comfort them, find solution to their problems, cure their wounds, and not blame or insult them.
http://www.altruists.org/ideas/psychology/depression/
and http://www.altruists.org/ideas/society/consumerism/


personally i think suicide is a pretty neat fix, just make sure you do it right first time

Here's a question: if someone fails a suicide attempt, does that hint that they never really wanted to die?

(from my website)
Some people would argue that people who commit suicide are selfish. Selfishness is to do something for your benefit and your benefit only. Suicide, in the eye of the depressed person, is not for their benefit and their benefit only. Sometimes it is a mixture of helping themselves and helping others. Sometimes the main reason for suicide is to protect loved ones.

Depression will make a person truly believe that people they care about will be better off without them. Depression will provide a person with examples of ways they've harmed other people and had bad effects on other people's lives. Depression is such a powerful force that it will convince a person that suicide is the best answer, not necessarily for themselves but for the people they care about.

[...]

However much pain suicide does indeed cause, it is very rare that a person who commits suicide intends to cause this pain. In the vast vast majority of cases they believe they will be helping the people they care about.


That's a point I didn't think about... but after thinking about it, I agree with you. Thanks for the enlightenement. ;)

Here's a question: if someone fails a suicide attempt, does that hint that they never really wanted to die?
Maybe. Depends why he failed. If he ate a bottle full of seconal, washed it down with a liter of vodka and tied a bag over his head just before passing out but was discovered by someone unexpectedly barging into his home before he died, I'd say he probably meant to kill himself. If, on the other hand he eats a bottle of aspirin and then announces it to a friend or family member on the phone, no.

Glitzi, don't bother, dear. They don't want to get it, because then they'd lose their sense of superiority.

I'm glad she did bother, she convinced me ;) (well, she pointed to me something I never considered before, and she did convince me that in many cases it's probably true).

There are two things people often ignore about suicide:

First, suicide can be a perfectly rational decision. It doesn't have to be motivated by clinical depression. If someone's life is, on average, of negative utility, suicide is the rational best option. Also, though Glitziness's site characterizes the "I'm helping others" concept as a misapprehension brought on by depression, it can certainly be true. Look at Death of a Salesman, for example. Suicide sometimes is necessary to preserve others lives and happiness.

Second, depression itself is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if it doesn't lead to suicide. Depression makes people more aware of the flaws in themselves and the world, and often brings them closer to the true way things work. I do some of my best philosophizing when depressed. Just because it's not the average brain chemistry doesn't make it a disorder. It's just another way a brain can operate. Applying chemicals is in some ways similar to murder, in that it means that whatever person was there before is now gone. It can sometimes be necessary murder, but never forget that the person with the "disorder" is, all things equal, just as valuable as the so-called normal person.

And the whole "you will never understand it" thing isn't a superiority complex? It is defensive at the very least.


Defensive? Yes, but you don't know me so please don't presume to diagnose me with a superiority complex. And I didn't say he couldn't understand it, I said he won't try to.

Defensive? Yes, but you don't know me so please don't presume to diagnose me with a superiority complex.
You don't know me and the others posting here, and you were quick to diagnose us.

And the whole "you will never understand it" thing isn't a superiority complex? It is defensive at the very least.
I honestly don't mean it, when I make that statement, to come across as viewing myself superior.

It just seems obvious to me that you can't truly understand what it is like to experience a mental illness, unless you have experienced it. You can have valuable knowledge of the area through study or second-hand experience etc, but that isn't the same as actually going through the experience.

I apply this to everything and I don't think I'd ever claim to truly understand something which I had not experienced myself. Mental illness is just one of many things I believe this holds true to.

Perhaps moreso... Something that makes me think this is how people try to apply logic to suicide and depression when it is a mental illness and therefore the way of thinking is not logical.

Even I find it now, past my depression, to bring up the exact feeling of being under the control of a mental illness. For someone who has never gone through that, I find it hard to see how it could be properly understood and empathised with.

Defensive? Yes, but you don't know me so please don't presume to diagnose me with a superiority complex. And I didn't say he couldn't understand it, I said he won't try to.
Pot ... meet kettle

That's a point I didn't think about... but after thinking about it, I agree with you. Thanks for the enlightenement. ;)
100% my pleasure.

http://www.altruists.org/ideas/psychology/depression/
and http://www.altruists.org/ideas/society/consumerism/

Interesting read, thanks.

personally i think suicide is a pretty neat fix, just make sure you do it right first time

I don't agree with that. First, because if you think the society is too reckless, the solution is not to blow yourself (after all, you realised it, so you're not so bad), but to try to fix the society. Yes, it's an harder path, but it's worth it. We can change the future.

The second reason is that, even if Glitz were right than many depressive _think_ their relatives (family, friends, loved one, ...) would be better off without them, it's very, very, very rarely true. So even if they may not see it as a selfish act, it ends up being as if it were one.

As someone who was severely depressed for several years and suicidal on and off for a couple, I believe depression is a choice. No, I don't think they consciously tell themselves "I want to be depressed," but they choose to believe that their life sucks, they're worthless, their future is grim, etc. After realizing this, I haven't had anything but a great day since. People drastically underestimate the power of those little internal sentences we tell ourselves all day.

personally i think suicide is a pretty neat fix, just make sure you do it right first time
You have no idea how glad I am you didn't "do it right first time" and I hope you never "do it right".
:fluffle:
The thought of losing you has me close to tears and just... totally and utterly tears me apart.

As someone who was severely depressed for several years and suicidal on and off for a couple, I believe depression is a choice. No, I don't think they consciously tell themselves "I want to be depressed," but they choose to believe that their life sucks, they're worthless, their future is grim, etc. After realizing this, I haven't had anything but a great day since. People drastically underestimate the power of those little internal sentences we tell ourselves all day.
It depends. Sometimes it is purely due to a way of thinking, sometime's it's due to chemicals in your brain, often it's a mixture.

Even when it is a way of thinking, I'm wary about calling it a "choice". It doesn't take into account all the various factors such as being brought up with views of the world, the way you've been treated, your situation and your relationships, your genetics that may affect things...
It can also make it sound easy to get out of depression. Things like CBT that change your way of thinking... they take a hell of a lot of effort.
It generally can belittle both the actual depression and the recovery and that's a dangerous thing to do.

It's fantastic that you were able to get out of depression, but I'd be wary about saying that this could apply to everyone as easily.
Also, sometimes you need to come to realisations in your own time and hearing someone say something does nothing.

I am a genarally curious person. Lately, I have noticed more and more kids my age committing suicide. Last week, one of my good friends blew his face off. I wanted to know what the general opinion of teen suicide is on here.
My opinion on teen suicide is that it is a tremendously horrible side effect of the increased hormones and emotions experienced during the teenage years, and the teenagers' inexperience in dealing with those emotions.

Teens are people who have the mental facilities and emotional experiences of adults (or are at almost matching levels) for the first time: every high is really high and every low is really low. They don't have the apathy that adults have, who've experienced the adult world for years and years, over and over. It'd be like seeing color for the first time, very red, blue, and yellow would be so incredibly red, blue and yellow.

And depression is kind of like a drug: the world looks different while you're experiencing it. I know that when I'm sad or happy or under any other emotional effect, I tend to see things skewed according to that emotion. To those that are depressed, I imagine suicide seems like a feasible option, or one that will somehow solve problems. When I'm depressed, I tend to retract from others and mentally beat myself up about things--even though normally I am perfectly sociable and can laugh at my mistakes. As a teen, when I was depressed, it was even worse. It was the first time I'd experienced such dismal emotions, and they were much more vivid than they are now.

I think that teens who have good, loving connections with others, especially empathetic adults (those willing to listen to the skew that teenage inexperience and emotional vividness places on the teens' understanding of the world) have the best chance to get through teenage depression without doing something rash, like suicide.

As for an increase in suicide recently, I have no numbers, and can't say yea or nay. When I was a junior in high school, a classmate of mine hanged herself while under the influence of some depressants. It immediately made me feel like everyone was committing suicide. Later as I thought about it, I decided I was only more aware of suicide, not that the overall, worldwide (or even nationwide) numbers on suicide were increasing. It was the same with friends dating, having friends get drunk, etc. I became more aware of these things, but there weren't real changes in the numbers of people in the world who were dating, getting drunk, etc. (it was just a change in my point of view).

Even when it is a way of thinking, I'm wary about calling it a "choice". It doesn't take into account all the various factors such as being brought up with views of the world, the way you've been treated, your situation and your relationships, your genetics that may affect things...
It can also make it sound easy to get out of depression. Things like CBT that change your way of thinking... they take a hell of a lot of effort.
It generally can belittle both the actual depression and the recovery and that's a dangerous thing to do.

It's fantastic that you were able to get out of depression, but I'd be wary about saying that this could apply to everyone as easily.

I don't mean to make it sound simple and easy to get out of depression. Getting out of that state of mind takes a ton of honest introspection and some critical thinking skills. Thankfully for me, it came naturally. I was effectively applying CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy incase anyone's interested) before I ever knew what it was. :p

Also, sometimes you need to come to realisations in your own time and hearing someone say something does nothing

Couldn't agree with that any more strongly. People tend to think I'm nuts when I talk about those internal sentences.

I don't mean to make it sound simple and easy to get out of depression. Getting out of that state of mind takes a ton of honest introspection and some critical thinking skills. Thankfully for me, it came naturally. I was effectively applying CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy incase anyone's interested) before I ever knew what it was. :p
Don't worry - I assumed that wasn't your intention but was just warning of how people can twist that view.
And you're lucky! I spent roughly a year with CBT and it still takes active strength to fight off depression and keep applying what I learnt.
(couldn't do it all without a certain wonderful someone who helped turn me around and has done wonders for my view on life and myself :fluffle:)

Couldn't agree with that any more strongly. People tend to think I'm nuts when I talk about those internal sentences.
It generally just used to piss me off and frustrate me because people seemed to treat it as something so simple to change how you see things and that was what seemed "nuts" to me. To change a lifetimes worth of negative thinking and lack of confidence etc is not simple. To break down thoughts that have been there all your life, that have become cemented in your head as truths is not simple.

These internal sentences definitly have a huge effect. But they can be incredibly hard habits to get out of, and I really really hate when people (this isn't aimed at you btw) belittle the effort it takes and - on a personal level - belittle my progress and what I've managed to do.

I don't mean to make it sound simple and easy to get out of depression. Getting out of that state of mind takes a ton of honest introspection and some critical thinking skills. Thankfully for me, it came naturally. I was effectively applying CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy incase anyone's interested) before I ever knew what it was. :p

Incidentally, it's unlikely that your depression was based on an imbalance in brain chemistry. One of the reasons that depression caused by fucked-up chemical interactions is so damned horrible is that you know that your life doesn't suck. You know there is no reason to feel like shit.

I am a genarally curious person. Lately, I have noticed more and more kids my age committing suicide. Last week, one of my good friends blew his face off. I wanted to know what the general opinion of teen suicide is on here.
I hate all my friends suicidal tendencies. Ok, so your depressed, who osn't get depressed. All you need is a good old cry. But why for god's sake do you cut your bleedin' wrists? Because your a goth? Sad reason. Because you need to get rid of the pain? You mentally unfit pig!

What we need is a NWOBHM revival.

Fuck yes!

(Not because I blame teen suicide or self harm on emo, but because, well, the NWOBHM was awesome. And we need more of it **nod**)

As someone who went through that teenage phase of being "depressed" (I'm not saying I was or I wasn't, as I don't know and I was never diagnosed or examined) and incorporated two suicide attempts into that (hmm. that makes it sound like they were planned as attention seeking, which they weren't) I have to say that, while a lot of teenagers may have nothing actually wrong with either them, or their situation, that doesn't mean they realise that. Dismissing it as attention seeking, being emo or even teenagers going through a phase may be the best thing overall, but it's still taking a gamble with human lives. Sometimes, people who start out as attention seeking, wannabe depressives turn into good, decent adults.

I hate all my friends suicidal tendencies. Ok, so your depressed, who osn't get depressed.

There's a difference between "a bit sad, like" and actual genuine depression. A huge difference

But why for god's sake do you cut your bleedin' wrists? Because your a goth? Sad reason. Because you need to get rid of the pain? You mentally unfit pig!

Is it just me, or do you seem more disparaging towards those who do it for a (just barely) justifiable reason than those who do it to be in with the crowd? :confused: :(

My opinion?? I'm all for it!!!! It's, like, totally cool!!!!

Seriously though, I think it's because of all the sucky numetal/emo type music. What we need is a NWOBHM revival.

I'd kill myself if I had to sit around listen to Iron Maiden and Diamond Head.

Orchid > any NWOBHM band. ;)

Incidentally, it's unlikely that your depression was based on an imbalance in brain chemistry. One of the reasons that depression caused by fucked-up chemical interactions is so damned horrible is that you know that your life doesn't suck. You know there is no reason to feel like shit.
Indeed. The frustration from that is awful and you end up hating yourself for feeling that way, and hating your life for how messed up it is, which just gets it into a nice big cycle....

I've happened to have experienced both types, I think.

:rolleyes: <--- Pretty much sums it up.

Lets face it, killing yourself before you experienced anything but the introduction to life, is pretty weak. If it's a question of angst and not terminal illness, one has to be really melodramatic and self-absorbed to even contemplate it.

Agreed.

It depends. Sometimes it is purely due to a way of thinking, sometime's it's due to chemicals in your brain, often it's a mixture.

Even when it is a way of thinking, I'm wary about calling it a "choice". It doesn't take into account all the various factors such as being brought up with views of the world, the way you've been treated, your situation and your relationships, your genetics that may affect things...
It can also make it sound easy to get out of depression. Things like CBT that change your way of thinking... they take a hell of a lot of effort.
It generally can belittle both the actual depression and the recovery and that's a dangerous thing to do.

It's fantastic that you were able to get out of depression, but I'd be wary about saying that this could apply to everyone as easily.
Also, sometimes you need to come to realisations in your own time and hearing someone say something does nothing.

No, it really is a matter of choice. When you choose to rely entirely on medication and therapy, you're not going to get anywhere. You're going to end up dependant on medicines and other people for the rest of your life.

The only way to really get out of depression is to suck it up and work on your problems yourself. It sounds harsh, but for a long time I tried to rely on medicines and therapy. It was only when I got off the medicines, stopped going to session, and started actually working on my life that things improved.

And as for Drunk Commies and others of his opinion, they have a point. An entire subculture has developed revolving around suicide and self-injury. It's in music, television, and movies, and it glorifies depression and suicide. Many kids today thing that it's a cool thing to get into, and that it's a great way to get attention. If you disagree with me, you really don't know much about the youth of today.

True, not all cases of suicide, self-injury, or depression are spurred by this subculture, but I would venture to say that a very small minority of depression in youth is genuine. For those that do genuinely have depression and thoughts of suicide, yes, they do deserve help, but the only way they're going to get better is through themselves. It's hard, but if you train yourself to wallow in medicine, therapy, and self-pity, you're just going to perpetuate your own hell.

Flame away.

Two boys from my school have killed themselves this year. I didn't know either of them well, but it was still upsetting, what with so many people who were grieving around me. Teen suicide is tragic, and it shouldn't have to happen. But sometimes people feel like it's not a choice, and they can't always be helped in time.