As I mentioned, I had not really thought too much about suicide prior to going on the ASIST course. Sure, I was aware of it and had a few opinions/views on suicide but I had never sat down to really think about the subject at all. I'm also still unaware how much a lot of people think about suicide. I learned a lot over the last two days and part of me getting grips of it is writing it down - so why not on this blog thingmy.
On average, two people a day die in Scotland through suicide. In a country of five million odd people that didn't seem too much to me at first. Young men appear to be particularly at risk and although statistically females attempt suicide in greater numbers, males tend to actually 'successfully' kill themselves more - I use the word 'successfully' really loosely. Men also seem to pick more violent and extroverted means of suicide, whereas females tend to attempt more subtle methods. This is not to say that every man and women operate in this way, these are just the conclusions of statistical trends. As I was told this and when I found out a few more facts and figures my initial lack of feelings began to change. In 2007 there were 838 people in Scotland who definitely or were suspected as dieing through suicide. That's more than two a day. It's also unclear as to if this figure is close to the truth - in reality the number is likely much higher. Not all suicides are defined as such on death certificates. On top of this, these figures don't say how many people consider suicide on daily basis. It has been estimated that 1 in 7 of us will never think about taking our own lives at some point in our lives - leaving the other six to at least consider suicide at one point. That is a huge number, a frightening number and it scared the shit out of me. However, the numbers that carry through on these thoughts is lower. On top of the people who are driven (and I accept there are a variety of reasons, including euthanasia in terminally ill people) there is a great affect on the people around the person who dies through suicide: family members, friends, acquaintances, work colleagues, support workers and countless other people.
Now, my thoughts on euthanasia in terminally ill people remain pretty unchanged. I fully understand people who have taken their own life in Swiss clinics or at home because of terminal illness or the prospect of facing a life of extreme physical pain. I think that because I don't know how I will react if I ever face such a prospect. However, my focus here is on other people who seek suicide but still have reasons that they identify themselves for living. These situations where such people seek suicide are an altogether different kettle of fish. Anything can bring questions of suicide, from loosing a job, a partner, financial worry, physical or sexual abuse, to mental illness, substance abuse and an almost unlimited amount of other things. No one is immune. Distressing, difficult and awful events can lead to a person considering suicide - they cause so much pain. However, it can often be the case that a person who thinks about suicide often only wants to escape the pain. Escaping pain does not necessarily mean death, it's just that other options other than suicide can be very hard to see. It is in cases such as these that intervention models like the ASIST method, can be used to put someone in a much safer place within themselves.
Although I've just spent two days learning about suicide and suicide intervention, I still can't fully put my mind in the scenario of people that jump of bridges, overdose, slit their wrists or shoot themselves. This is not to say I can't understand the pain and the reasons - and I can see why no other options could present themselves. People must get so low, so down and find themselves in such dark places. Totally and utterly dark, where people cannot see any positive, no way to go on, feel desperate, suffocated and completely alone. The idealist in me thinks that if someone ever seeks you out when they feel like this, somewhere they have a reason to live. However, it really affects me when I think that some people get to these dark places and end up killing themselves.
I really have to praise projects like ASIST. They need deserve mad props! Their drive to educate more people with a positive model for intervening means that more people can help each other when any of us (and it really can be any of us) finds ourselves in a really shitey, low, dark place.
Check out organisations like these and find out a bit more. Although I may sound like a right cheesey sod, they do such an important job.
