Quote:
Originally Posted by SteamWake
Its' Bushs fault... 
Sorry...
The VA is struggeling to cope with these types of disorders and frankly not doing a very good job of it. The number of soldier suicides outweigh the number of 'combat deaths' by nearly two to one.
http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=52049 |
That's a very harsh statistic. I bet most of them (if not all - not necessarily because of the disparity of men-women serving in the armed forces?) are men from the ages of 18 to 40 years old.
Some time back, I read an article that detailed the comparison between men and women in the UK who kill themselves.
It was the men who tipped the scales in finding absolutely no point in suffering with the seemingly un-ending despair that life and relationships have to offer. The suggestion was that unlike women, many males lack the support and intimacy with friends and family, and so when catastrophic change enters their life, they cannot cope or adapt to these new circumstances.
Personally I think it has a lot to do with what you see as being fundamental to your worth and happiness in life.
I can tolerate being alone, and in that sense I don't need anyone else to feel good about myself. But, I don't like it. Solitude has its place, but it does not allow you to grow as a person.
Humans are social creatures - if you take away the solidarity that exists with all human relationships, be they intimate or friendships, then the spirit will wither and die. Confine any animal (or human) to a solitary existence and they will eventually break.
I believe it is this same sense of isolation from those who you deem to be important in life that causes many people, who do not suffer a recognised mental health problem, to kill themselves. The isolation and loneliness is more than they can stand - be it a physical separation from people, or an experience that cannot be shared (or is believed to be so) with those who have not experienced the same.
As for what drives an individual to kill family members too... I think that's down to the personality. Speaking only for myself here, were it ever to come to that, I think I'd be more likely to harm myself than another. But without any explanation or evidence to corroborate or refute speculation, outsiders can only say - they must have been in a very dark place to feel that the action was needed, or that the normal strictures all of us possess had, for some reason, failed at that moment.
When you honestly believe your life has no value or purpose or future, what other choice is there, other than to end what you see as insufferable?
Of all the things humans must endure in life I think that is the most terrible and the most tragic consequence of self-awareness.
I also think that many who choose to kill themselves (and others) because of this, are more than likely, intelligent, articulate, compassionate and self-aware people.
I guess sometimes ignorance really is bliss.