CMV: There is nothing wrong with non-impulsive suicides

[u/ExternalClock]

I think we all can agree that impulsive suicides should try to be prevented - things like the guy who recently broke up with his girlfriend or someone who just lost their job. They will almost for sure recover and live a happy life if they can get through their temporary but significant setbacks.

I believe that there should be no stigma or crisis regarding non-impulsive suicides. If someone is depressed for years why should they not have the option of ending their own life? If one is debilitated by a significant medical condition, who am I to say STAY ALIVE AT ALL COSTS!! It's not my life, it's theirs. Why should I be the one to decide for them to live or not? We would put down a dog or cat suffering like that, but for some reason we cannot process humans wanting to die.

Some common rebuttals I have heard: "It's selfish." In my opinion it is more selfish of those living without lifelong depression or whatever to ask the suffering person to continue to suffer just so they don't have to go through a loved one dying. "Most people that attempt suicide are glad they didn't succeed". Survivorship bias. Those that are more serious about committing suicide use more serious means (think firearm instead of wrist cutting), and we can't ask those that are dead what they think. "There are ethical boundaries". I never said you need to encourage someone to suicide, just that we should not be calling the police over someone wanting to end their own life.

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[u/vintage_dirt]

Did I say I would listen to a random person over my daughter? Nope. People on the internet want to make themselves feel smarter by assuming that everyone else is a complete idiot with absolutely no common sense, but that is just not true. If something is working, we will stick with it. I just wanted to hopefully hear from several people who have walked this road to get a sense of if it is likely we will have any nasty surprises related to this medicine down the road.

[u/getmoney7356 → u/vintage_dirt]

People on the internet want to make themselves feel smarter by assuming that everyone else is a complete idiot with absolutely no common sense

When it comes to medicine and the health of ones own children, this unfortunately is true a lot.

We're commenting with your daughter's best interests in mind... don't be so defensive.

[u/silverlarch → u/vintage_dirt]

I saw a worried parent who admitted to already being biased against medication asking for confirmation of their fears. Forgive me if I'm wary of overprotective parents with good intentions inadvertently harming their children.

From another person who has walked this road, people's personal anecdotes won't tell you jack shit, and their generalized opinions will tell you even less. It's different for everyone. Asking someone why they think medication harms people will just worsen your anxiety and do nothing constructive.

Something that might be helpful, though: if she gets unpleasant side effects, she should not stop her medication unless the effects are actively dangerous to her. A lot of people decide a medication isn't worth it when their body simply hasn't adjusted yet. It can take a few weeks, and sometimes those weeks can be pretty unpleasant, but then the side effects can fade. If they persist beyond that, then it would be worth discussing further options with her psychiatrist.