[memyselfI]

Originally Posted by Stanley Nickels

I've pretty much given up on arguing with anyone about the supposed "selfishness" of suicide, because I've come to believe that many people are simply incapable of empathic cognitive behavior and cannot understand mental illnesses.

If anything Junior Seau should be the posterboy for this line of thinking: he's tremendously successful, wealthy (I'm supposing), in great shape for his age, has children... and yet, he still kills himself. That is either the most selfish, hateful, shameful thing you can ever do, or a product of some major neurological trauma. He had all the reasons to live and the money to get the best help available, and still shoots himself in the chest. No, the truly selfish thing here is appealing to the "logical high ground" of how those people simply can't rationalize their importance in the lives of others. Bullshit.

I used this line of thinking in discussing this with my 16 year old son earlier today. He couldn't grasp how someone with so much to live for could kill themselves. I explained to him that is sometimes the rub. You have so many wonderful things, a dream life, and should be happy but that makes the pain and guilt more unbearable.

Most of us live with the notion that if we just had ___ we'd be happy. What happens when you actually get ____ plus more and you are uncontrollably in pain and miserable? Obviously, Seau had some serious pain. Very sad.