Comment by nicoburns 3 days ago
> maybe a 16 year old who wants to end their otherwise healthy life might, 20 years later, be glad they didn't.
Equally, they might spend decades of their life in misery wishing that they had been able to.
With suicide being illegal in most jurisdictions, not everyone interviewed may have been honest in relating their feelings. If you have suicidal ideations, telling others about them can have severely negative consequences. Saying “I wish it had worked” would likely create ongoing jeopardy.
No, it isn’t. People who have attempted suicide are often very closely monitored by family/caregivers/medical professionals for whether they are going to attempt again, for years, and can be subject to significant constraints if they give any indications that they are thinking that way.
Sure, but the comment of was about the illegality of suicide and the resulting jeopardy causing people who attempted suicide to say they didn't wish it had worked on a documentary about suicide (and presumably skewing the "stats").
I don't think that's the same as what you're describing.
I don't particularly like this wording but can't seem to come up with another one right now:
I think it's okay for us to try and avoid the irreversible mistake, but yes, it's very arguable that living years you didn't want to live is also an "irreversible mistake".
You're correct, and I'm generally in favor of the right to die.
I watched a documentary where they interviewed a bunch of people who attempted suicide and talked to them about the entire experience and mental state. Out of the maybe ten that they interviewed, only one said that he wished it had worked. That doesn't mean it's only 10% though... they didn't get to interview the ones that succeeded.