Sylvia Plath's Son Takes Own Life

[Xamonas Chegwé]

I thought this might interest one or two of you. Not to mention open up an interesting nature v nurture debate regarding suicidal tendencies and depression.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7958876.stm

[Dasein]

interesting news. I used to become so angry when someone commited suicide, thinking it was such a cop-out, but have since come to understand that depression isn't something you can just take off like a jacket. Still is a shame though.

[Pappa]

A friend of mine killed himself. I've mentioned it online before. He was a truly magnificent if very troubled young man. I've never begrudged him for what he did, his life would have been too difficult to continue. He suffered from bipolar disorder. It would probably have calmed down as he got older, but I suspect it was too difficult for him to get that far.

For me, he's the middle star in Orion's Belt. I see him every time the stars are out.

[Red Katie]

Note: Suicide and depression are not the same thing. Many depressed people lead long, miserable lives. Suicide is something else. Something different from mere depression.

Having said that, I can see why Hughs did it. He lived in Alaska, for God's sake. Pass the pistol, Hannah. Eugene, bring that ax over here.

[Dasein]

Rk, you are right, about depression being different from suicidal urges; and about living in Alaska! If the temp drops below 70 I lose all luster for life. What is it that pushes one from depression to suicide? Fuck knows I'm a miserable cow half of the time, yet there is always that love of the little things, or hope of something new; there is always a reason to live one more day. What makes people say fuck it, fuck life?

[Bella Fortuna]

Conversely one can be inherently happy and optimistic, yet sometimes a low point can be reached through circumstance where the option of it becomes something on the table rather than ruled out.

[Dasein]

Interesting, B. It makes sense, and they are the suicides that piss me off, an inability to face the rougher stuff because life's been pleasant thus far.

[Bella Fortuna]

I can't say I've never been in that place before, but I understand your feeling... it seems a weakness, a cop-out, a primal failure to want to keep the life-force generating.

[FBM]

Eugene, bring that ax over here.

+1

And don't be careful with it, I suppose?

Edit: Derail. Sorry.

I've been on the verge of suicide before. More than once. Life really sucked that much back then. I decided to stick it out, since I didn't see how it could get much worse. It got better.

[Dasein]

and I can't say I don't feel empathy, unhappiness sucks. I can't get over the feeling of the waste of a beautiful life. shrug. Life is complex, and I can't profess to see inside why.

[Dasein]

Eugene, bring that ax over here.

+1

And don't be careful with it, I suppose?

Edit: Derail. Sorry.

I've been on the verge of suicide before. More than once. Life really sucked that much back then. I decided to stick it out, since I didn't see how it could get much worse. It got better.

It made me laugh too.

right, you had some hope. I've been there too, perched on the edge, but sarcastic enough deep down to find the irony in it all, I guess.

[FBM]

right, you had some hope. I've been there too, perched on the edge, but sarcastic enough deep down to find the irony in it all, I guess.

I really didn't have any hope or sarcasm at those times, actually. It was just a profound feeling that 'This isn't the right way to deal with this.' It took a long, long time before things actually started getting better, but they did. They didn't kill me, so they made me stronger. No doubt about that. Now...

[Dasein]

right, you had some hope. I've been there too, perched on the edge, but sarcastic enough deep down to find the irony in it all, I guess.

I really didn't have any hope or sarcasm at those times, actually. It was just a profound feeling that 'This isn't the right way to deal with this.' It took a long, long time before things actually started getting better, but they did. They didn't kill me, so they made me stronger. No doubt about that. Now...

so you had logic. you had something, anyway.

[FBM]

right, you had some hope. I've been there too, perched on the edge, but sarcastic enough deep down to find the irony in it all, I guess.

I really didn't have any hope or sarcasm at those times, actually. It was just a profound feeling that 'This isn't the right way to deal with this.' It took a long, long time before things actually started getting better, but they did. They didn't kill me, so they made me stronger. No doubt about that. Now...

so you had logic. you had something, anyway.

!

[Red Katie]

I have run with the black dog myself, for years at a time, sometimes. I've even plotted out how to kill myself so my heirs don't lose. But I never made a serious gesture to do it. I always wanted to see what would happen next. And when my parents threw me out and I had to sell my ass on the street, I was never even tempted to turn to drugs. I don't know what it is. Some of us got it and some of us ain't, I guess.