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I guess I'll jump in with my jaded .02.
Since 2004, I've lost a brother, a mother in law, a cousin, and a friend to suicide. They all had different reasons for dying.
My brother was a paranoid schizophrenic. Prior to developing the disease, he was smart as hell; was a gifted athlete, chess player, and musician; was the charming, good-looking, life of every party. He could have done anything he wanted to. When he died, he was a shell of the person he was before. He didn't want to live the way he was living. The psychologist I saw after his death told me it was ok to admit he was better off. He is. It hurts to admit it. I miss him terribly but I don't blame him for doing what he did.
My cousin and friend both found themselves in shitty positions that could have gotten better, but really, really sucked for awhile. I guess they just couldn't deal with life at that time. They've both caused a lot of pain to their loved ones. I think they fall into the group that ng was talking about - non permanent misery. They made their decisions and it sucks.
My mother in law lived a selfish life and died in a selfish manner. A week before her death, my husband and I severed ties with her. I watched my husband spend 15 years urging her to get therapy, to get into rehab, to turn her life around while the rest of the family enabled her and justified her actions. In the end, she chose her lifestyle and her victimhood over her family; we just couldn't take it anymore. I truly believe her death was her final fuck you, her final "Look at what YOU made ME do!" moment. Her family is devasted and is dwelling in the "shoulda, woulda, coulda" camp. Their pain is heartbreaking. Hers - not so much. Call me a coldhearted bitch if you want to, but I can't sugarcoat it.
It all comes down to the individual. I can't say that it's never justifiable. Suicide sucks and wreaks havoc on the people left behind, but so does child abuse, drug abuse, murder, gambling addiction, etc. People make stupid, bad decisions. Suicide just happens to be one of them.
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"They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king"
Formerly Medusa
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