Posted by dreamboat_annie on December 8, 2006, at 18:38:36 [reposted on December 8, 2006, at 22:55:00 | original URL]
In reply to Re: ways of describing suicide, posted by Dr. Bob on December 7, 2006, at 23:23:06
Just for the record, and then I think I will take my leave from Babble, I was in NO WAY romantizing suicide or idealizing the taking ones own life, and I'm sorry if people took it that way. Frankly, I am offended that anyone would think that, as someone who has suffered with depression, sometimes so deep and dark I didn't know if I would see another day, and someone who has lost people close to me to suicide, that I would even suggest such a thing. Oh well, seems you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Again, my apologies to those I may have hurt by my words, and thank you to those of you who have taken the time to respond to my queries and posts. There are some wonderful, caring, inclusive and welcoming people here.
> > I think that at some point an individual who has suffered and struggled with mental illness, and been beaten down time after time, only to keep trying to get up again, comes to a point of sweet surrender.
>
> I know this isn't a "media story", but I still think it's important to be careful about how we talk about suicide:
>
> > Certain ways of describing suicide in the news contribute to what behavioral scientists call "suicide contagion" or "copycat" suicides.
> > Research suggests that inadvertently romanticizing suicide or idealizing those who take their own lives by portraying suicide as a heroic or romantic act may encourage others to identify with the victim.
> >
> > http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewpage&page_id=7852EBBC-9FB2-6691-54125A1AD4221E49
>
> Follow-ups regarding this should be redirected to Psycho-Babble Administration. Here's a link:
>
> http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20061202/msgs/710976.html
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bob
poster:dreamboat_annie
thread:710976
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20061202/msgs/711767.html