Making choices.

CBT has taught me that we all have choices. We can choose what to do, how to react to a situation, whether to tell someone "no", etc. This is the best thing I learned from CBT. I have been severely depressed and suicidal for over half of my life. I want to die even on my good days and have felt so for many years. I am not made for this earth. I have considered it thoughtfully from many angles for many years. I have been through all know treatments except ECT. Why won't people let me make that choice?

I am similar in that I have been depressed and suicidal for much of my life. More accurately I think is that I just didn't and haven't enjoyed my life and did not want to live. As opposed to being actually suicidal. I would like the option to end it all in a simple peaceful way. Its never going to be allowed though. Apparently we are just meant to live out our lives even if we don't actually want to. There are still a few things I can try so I will do my best not to think beyond that.

I feel the same way, and I believe that under certain circumstances, it is a rational choice. I wish I were allowed to make it, too. Ironically, if I felt that I had the choice and could get help dying peacefully, I'd probably feel less desperate about wanting to die.

I don't know who could stop me. It may not be legal or physician assisted but I think I have that free choice. It may not be such a free choice if I was in a very severe depression but if I made a rational free choice who could stop me.

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If there was a foolproof and peaceful method readily available then I would have done it. One of my frustrations is that I cant find anywhere on the net where you can talk about such things. I would like to discuss my options but of course its against the rules of every forum I know of. Call me selfish I don't mind but I don't actually care how it affects anyone left behind. The only thing stopping me is the hope that things might get better. Now that is fading.

For me I do not feel its entirely a choice I'd be making rationally if I reach that place again(considering my situation remains the same/simular and I don't develop some terminal illness or something). It would be like a choice dictated by my brain chemistry/thought process doing unwanted things that make me feel so miserable and in pain I can't take it. I am actually afraid of reaching that state and being so overwhelmed and overtaken by it I would neglect to tell anyone or get help and thus would be likely to attempt.

The last couple times I felt that way I mentioned it to people and got a trip to the psych ward...but I guess at least I am not dead, can't say being in those places 'fixed' anything really but was better than just being left to my own devices while feeling suicidal I suppose. I don't really have any hope of things getting better which ups my anxiety since I know that can contribute to suicidal thinking...so trying to distract myself with intrests or things i like to the point of obsessing over those things so the hopelessness doesn't get to me.

I think we are talking about a case where your judgement is not impaired by severe depression. Like you have chronic depression and have suffered for a life time and after a lot of thought in a rational state of mind make that decision. Should it be allowed. Is it ethical to allow it. Kind of like Oregon's law for terminally ill patients. It's a tough issue but I think personally I would like it if I had that option allowed by society. I don't really fear death at all.

Death with Dignity Act

I guess I just figure it would be complicated trying to determine who came to the decision entirely rationally and not due to a skewed view due to mental illness. Or maybe there is something that hasn't been tried yet. I guess I can just see how implementing that could come with some problems. God forbid anyone was ever sort of encouraged/pushed in the direction of making such a decision...which unfortunately in this society I could see people with treatment resistant mental illnesses being maybe indirectly encouraged to choose that so they'll be less waste of resources.

So while I do think people should have the right to a dignified death, rather then be forced to live in unbearable misery/pain...I also could see problems arising with trying to implement it so not really sure what a solution would be. I mean I do not doubt I could come up for a reasonable explanation for why suicide is the logical choice even if in crisis as I can play it off like I am more calm than I am at times so that is concerning.

I mean if I truly got to the point I cannot enjoy anything at all, have no way at all of feeling any better and that is how it would remain then yes I would want the choice and not to be stopped same with terminal illness.

It would for sure be very complicated and have problems. I doubt there will ever be such a law. I still feel like I have that choice anyway if I made it when my judgement was not impaired because who could stop me if i was determined. I wouldn't want to follow through when in a state of impaired judgement. I would never want to encourage anyone.

I like the idea of death with dignity. If it is the brain/mind that is causing someone unimaginable suffering with no chance of repair, but the individual's other organs are functioning, why can't we discard that brain and use his/her organs for organ transplants? There are no brain transplants, but if someone has a functional brain and a liver that is killing them, why not let them have the healthy liver of someone whose brain is irreparable? Right now, if one is in a long-term coma without consciousness and cannot make the choice, this is possible, but if someone is conscious, capable of stating a choice, and begging "please, no more", it is forbidden.

Hi, yes CBT is about taking responsibility for self, making own decisions, not seeking others approval, challenging negative beliefs/expectations.
But, we aren't free to choose and do what we want and need always. And people do affect one another directly or indirectly, have influences.

What do you find more difficult anxiety or depression along with dark suicidal feelings? I feel like anxiety and depression occur together a lot.

Suicide isnt well understood as being highly related to severe depressive illness, not person actually wanting to kill themselves, die. People think its selfish and personal choice to end life. Well, it does have a devastating effect on those left behind but people may not intend or plan clearly to commit suicide, just be overwhelmed and act on strong suicidal impulsive idea, if in certain risky place or situation.

There are legal scholars who argue that suicide should be a civil right. I tend to agree with them.

great thread. I see many posts about suicide should be a choice. just a heads up here in american many USA states do allow people to make that choice and are making it legal with die with dignity laws, assisted suicide laws, right to die act, .. (each USA state that has this calls it by a different name/recognizes it by a different name) recently I was watching CNN news and there was a very publicized case where some states do allow people to go to two treatment providers and if they fit the criteria they will receive the lethal medication so that they can choose when and where they want to die.

I also know of situations where people I know have decided to commit suicide and followed through with that. bottom line is that if someone really wants to, they will find a way to accomplish that final goal. since the dawn of time people didnt need any suicide laws or rights to choose to live or die. they just did it/do it. this morning I got a call saying someone I know chose to die, leaving a letter for each of the people they wanted to know that this was their choice. they chose to have that final meal with family and friends and then left this world behind. the ones that really need/needed the suicide laws, rights to choose to live or die are those who are in a position where its impossible for them to make that choice and their family must do that ie a terminally ill patient on life support cant tell their family let me go. these suicide rights and laws now give these people the civil rights to not wait until they cant make that choice on their own. like one person I know who is terminal said to me.. people with depression, or are just plain hate their lives can at any time choose to commit suicide and do but those of us who are terminal end up laying in a hospital bed on life support because we cant make that choice. now with all these new laws and civil rights happening around dying with dignity we can make that choice before we end up on life support at the mercy of family and friends who dont want to let us go.

you can contact your treatment providers or your states legislative offices/government officials to see if your state has these laws or if your state has any laws in the legislative process.

Well, those laws all exclude mentally ill people because they claim we're inherently capable of making a rational decision to end our lives, which I think is a load of BS.

It's also, I think, a load of crap to say that we don't really need assisted suicide laws because anyone can just kill themselves if they really want to. That's not actually true, as evidenced by the number of failed suicide attempts. Many websites that discuss methods have been taken down, and sometimes the content creators have even been prosecuted. Access to materials has been, in many cases, restricted. People who are publicly suicidal (jumpers, etc.) have the police called on them and are sometimes stopped by force, and then they can be detained indefinitely on a psych unit because people determined to have a mental illness have few civil rights in practice--and in these cases, wanting to die is considered proof positive of mental illness despite any other circumstances.

Assisted suicide laws make sure that people who want to die actually do die, that it's not a botched attempt that could leave them worse off than before. It removes intervention from police and psychiatry. They help people die with a minimum of suffering. There's a HUGE difference between that and the desperate suicide attempts a lot of people feel forced into.