Take the suicide rate and double it

[Fluidic Kimbo]

I've attended a few different suicide bereavement groups over the past few years, and here are two of my observations:

(1) People who run these groups seem to always talk about how suicide is frequently unexpected. This just isn't true. It's very rare that a person off's themselves without anyone having thought that they might do it. Really, it's extremely rare that a person is happy go lucky without a care in the world and then one day spontaneously decides to check out. Of all the suicides in my life, only one of them was totally out of the blue for me . . . but then I spoke to the deceased's brother who told me that his brother had been talking about killing himself for a while, so that's that one case accounted for. People who have killed themselves, 9 times out of 10, had been telling people that they want to kill themselves -- or if they didn't express suicidal ideation then they at least were known to struggle horribly with depression, anxiety and paranoia.

(2) The suicide rate is much higher than what the government records. A lot of suicides get ruled as 'misadventure'. Some of these stories I heard were fucking ridiculous, here are three examples of real-life stories I heard at support groups:
(2.a) A man was found dead in a prison cell by himself with the bedsheet wrapped around his neck. Ruled a misadventure.
(2.b) A man wrote a suicide note and left it on the table at home, then he drove to a cliff and jumped off the cliff. Ruled a misadventure.
(2.c) A man was at home by himself, found dead following a self-inflicted gunshot wound with a shotgun. Ruled a misadventure.

If we look at A, well if we were to really reach, we might say there was some sort of erotic asphyxia going on, but really that's reaching. Check if he still had his pants on and if the coroner determined that he recently had an erection -- also ask if he ever went to fetish parties or was known to engage in deviant sexual behaviours.
Looking at B, are they saying that he might have slipped off the cliff's edge? Even after having left a death note at home for his family to read?
Looking at C, they said that he might have been cleaning the gun. Cleaning a loaded shotgun with the barrel pointed at himself, really?

We humans don't have security cameras covering every square inch of the planet's surface, and so at times we have to consider the balance of probabilities . . . like for instance if a Houdini-wannabe magician was found at home drowned in the bath with his hands cuffed, it's plausible to say that he was just trying out a magic trick. But if a person with no history of magic shows and no known interest in the escape arts is found in such a position, the balance of probabilities is strongly steered toward suicide.

So yeah, my two observations are that suicide is expected and that lots of suicides get recorded as non-suicides.

[Quester]

You were referenced to these groups after your own tragic event? Or....

[Fluidic Kimbo]

You were referenced to these groups after your own tragic event? Or....

Yes.

[almostgone]

I've attended a few different suicide bereavement groups over the past few years, and here are two of my observations:

(1) People who run these groups seem to always talk about how suicide is frequently unexpected. This just isn't true. It's very rare that a person off's themselves without anyone having thought that they might do it. Really, it's extremely rare that a person is happy go lucky without a care in the world and then one day spontaneously decides to check out. Of all the suicides in my life, only one of them was totally out of the blue for me . . . but then I spoke to the deceased's brother who told me that his brother had been talking about killing himself for a while, so that's that one case accounted for. People who have killed themselves, 9 times out of 10, had been telling people that they want to kill themselves -- or if they didn't express suicidal ideation then they at least were known to struggle horribly with depression, anxiety and paranoia.

(2) The suicide rate is much higher than what the government records. A lot of suicides get ruled as 'misadventure'. Some of these stories I heard were fucking ridiculous, here are three examples of real-life stories I heard at support groups:
(2.a) A man was found dead in a prison cell by himself with the bedsheet wrapped around his neck. Ruled a misadventure.
(2.b) A man wrote a suicide note and left it on the table at home, then he drove to a cliff and jumped off the cliff. Ruled a misadventure.
(2.c) A man was at home by himself, found dead following a self-inflicted gunshot wound with a shotgun. Ruled a misadventure.

If we look at A, well if we were to really reach, we might say there was some sort of erotic asphyxia going on, but really that's reaching. Check if he still had his pants on and if the coroner determined that he recently had an erection -- also ask if he ever went to fetish parties or was known to engage in deviant sexual behaviours.
Looking at B, are they saying that he might have slipped off the cliff's edge? Even after having left a death note at home for his family to read?
Looking at C, they said that he might have been cleaning the gun. Cleaning a loaded shotgun with the barrel pointed at himself, really?

We humans don't have security cameras covering every square inch of the planet's surface, and so at times we have to consider the balance of probabilities . . . like for instance if a Houdini-wannabe magician was found at home drowned in the bath with his hands cuffed, it's plausible to say that he was just trying out a magic trick. But if a person with no history of magic shows and no known interest in the escape arts is found in such a position, the balance of probabilities is strongly steered toward suicide.

So yeah, my two observations are that suicide is expected and that lots of suicides get recorded as non-suicides.

Unfortunately, the opposite is true as well, although much less encountered.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fox...ce-experts.amp


Edit: Don't take my post wrong. Actual suicide is an absolute tragedy.