A Weapon Of War And A Shortcut To Heaven

From the forced suicide of Socrates to modern day legends such as Kurt Cobain, suicides have been a part of human history. It is likely that suicide is a phenomenon that have always been present in human societies, although we lack sources to verify this before the development of literary language. Suicides have been forced, they have been committed by starving artists and mad scientists or by feverish fanatics. They occur in great epic works such as Shakespeare’s Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet, and in some cultures they are even today considered honorable. The kamikaze-bombers during WW2 struck fear into the hearths of many a sailor and soldier manning ships in the pacific, and even now suicide bombers take the lives of others in the streets of Iraqi and Afghanistan cities. Suicide can be a weapon of war, or the result of the delusions of madmen, but they are always scary and shocking, be it a depressed teenager in a peaceful corner of the world, or a rambling fanatic seeking to right what he considers wrong in a dusty Middle-Eastern city.

The motives behind suicides are widespread, and relating to the modern suicide epidemic, one can’t really compare for instance the kamikaze pilots or the one of Socrates to suicides caused by mental health issues. We have to discern between suicide caused by an external factor and motive, such as political or religious fervor, and suicide caused by personal motives. Herein specifically mental and/or physical illness, personal disasters such as deaths of family and friends, financial troubles or crime. This being said, there are examples where it is difficult to see if it’s political or religious motives or personal issues, or both.

While certain (fanatical) religious beliefs amongst for instance Muslims perceive suicide as a shortcut to heaven, few are aware that a similar attitude have been common also in Western Christian culture. The crusades was a one-way trip to heaven for the participants, if you died in combat with the infidels, you where certain to get a spot in heaven, also, if you killed infidels, that was equally good and cleared you from sin. There are stories of crusaders arriving in the “holy land” and almost instantly performing suicidal charges right into the midst of a battle, ensuring not only their own death but also salvation according to their beliefs. If these events where only products of religious fervor, or planned, conscious suicides is hard to discern a thousand years later, but there’s a probability at least some used the religious theory that way.

Another and less known way of (ab)using suicide in a religious context is explained in the book “Heksenes Forsvarere” (direct translation: “Defenders Of The Witches”) by the Swedish author and journalist Jan Guillou. He put forth an interesting interpretation of medieval crime statistics. From several hundred year old court protocols Guillou provides statistics over men and women convicted of molesting animals, that is, primary having sex with them. Basically, over a long period of time, a considerable number of people where convicted of this, which was a crime in the catholic Sweden back then. It’s interesting to note that the Swedish parliament have had this case, criminalization of animal sex, or not, up for consideration 14 times over the past few years. It’s obviously still a hot potato, both judicially and politically! Anyway, back in the Middle Ages it meant death by execution. What is interesting in this, is that there is no similar number of cases found in comparable countries at that time, such as Norway of Denmark. The Norwegian and Danes did burn witches, decapitated murderers and whipped thieves, but they didn’t really molest that many animals according to court protocols. Did this mean the Swedes where more perverted than their close neighbors with which they shared language and culture? Doubtfully! Now, Catholics consider suicide as a great sin, and back in those days you would surely burn in hell for all eternity if you died by suicide. Yet, there was also a strange duality in this, because, if you were convicted to death for a hideous crime, you could receive absolution if you’d confess your sins. Absolution meant no eternity in hell or burning in purgatory, you where considered “clean” the moment you departed this life and could enjoy eternity in heaven. Guillou could find no other explanation than, especially when in many of the cases, the convicted came to the authorities and confessed themselves, that this was actually a religiously waterproof way of suicide!

These previous examples gives small and incomplete glimpses of how suicide have been used and by what means people have died, in the past they, it’s much more difficult understanding the causes and motives causing suicides. Was it depressions and mental illness, or harsh living conditions and a difficult future? To take the “perverted” Swedes, regardless if they knew they’d receive absolution, it can’t have been easy confessing something they in many cases had not done. They must have had a very strong motivation to go through with this, obviously their religious beliefs, but also, they can’t have been rambling nut-cases acting on a whim. Even back then, they had to go through a certain court process and that took a little while, something that clearly indicates they must have been healthy enough to both understand and set their own state-sponsored suicides into motion.

When it comes to modern-day examples of the perversion-equals-heaven-tactic, I’m not aware of any, maybe except of the suicide bombers that do indeed believe hey will come to paradise. On the other hand, the suicide bombers are often very young and can hardly have accumulated many sins, that being sin regardless of Christian or Islamic context. Then again, maybe they are simply struggling with suicidal thoughts, just like people elsewhere and get the chance to “depart with style”. Also, it is no secret that living conditions in parts of the Middle-East are extremely difficult, making an increased level of general suicidal sentiments with the population probable. What other conclusions can be drawn from this theory is uncertain, other than it being an interesting example of what’s probably practical abuse of religious rules and rites.

Causality And Probability

Everything points to the conclusion that the vast majority of suicides are caused by mental illness. The most common mental disorder, depression, or mixed depression/anxiety, is also probably the most frequent cause of suicidality.  While other mental disorders such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder may have higher percentage-wise suicide rates compared to those caused by depressions, these disorders are rare, affecting only a small amount of the general populace. Also, the chance that you have more than one mental health issue increase significantly if you already have one, thus, a considerable number of individuals suffering from a certain mental health problem have others too (a phenomenon referred to as co-morbidity). The causes behind this is complex, social issues such as substance abuse, poverty, general health situation clearly play a major role here. It is a dismal fact that mental illness, substance abuse, poverty and other social issues go hand in hand and it is often hard to find who came first.

It is widely accepted fact these days, that depressions are extremely common and frequent. They can be related to or initiated by deaths, accidents, illness, being victimized, sexual abuse, substance abuse, in fact basically everything that changes your life situation in a uncomfortable way and causes emotional uproar or turmoil. Some are also genetically predisposed for depressions, substance addiction and various mental disorders. There is actually a theory that states that genetic predisposition for depression might be the cause of the unexpected and very surprising suicides that occur from time to time. This might hold some truth, albeit one should be very careful when coming to absolute conclusions in matters with obviously very intricate causal relations.

Darwinism

If you wish to look for a more fundamental or philosophical explanation for suicidality, one interesting and brutal possibility lies implicit in the very theory of evolution. From a somewhat extreme evolutionist point of view, suicide might be considered one of the mechanisms nature use to get rid of individuals unfit for further existence. Individuals that should not be allowed to carry on a bad strain. In the light of modern humanistic theory and ethics, this is will quickly be a focus point for massive objections. For instance, one could argue that human societies have moved beyond the rules of nature, rendering evolutionary theory an invalid and outdated way of understanding our societies. An answer to that could very well be that we’re always a part of nature, because we are nature, and even if we can alter some biological processes by technology, that do not detach us from the loop of life and death. Even if you sport this extreme evolutionist point of view, it is probable that this is a much too simplified basis for understanding suicide as a phenomenon. While Darwin’s theory of evolution can be applied to a surprisingly wide array of subjects, it does not necessarily mean it is suitable for explaining everything.

The Industrialized World Taking It’s Toll

You can’t try to understand a complicated phenomenon such as suicide without digging into our recent history and the way our world have developed over the past few hundred years. We don’t have to go back more than a mere two hundred years before the majority of the population was farmers and peasants, and did not live in cities. The industrial revolution brought massive changes in how we live our lives and how closely we live together. Health care, food on the table, education, good housing, entertainment and financial security are all privileges the modern man have to a greater extent than our forefathers. Then again, these things does not mean everything is perfect, as our way of life has side effects. The demands on individuals in both social and work life, have increased enormously, with personal success as the ultimate goal in many cultures. Yet, many people can never live up to the much treasured idea of personal success being the way to a good life, and the knowledge or fear that one’s not up to the ideals of one’s society can be devastating.

Additionally, one should not ignore the fact that the industrialization, introduced general pollution in a scale never seen or felt before. It is a well-known fact that many chemical substances gets into our bodies both orally and by skin contact. That the many modern chemical substances can have all kinds of undesired effects on our health situation, is area of science we’ve only just begun to explore. Also, of our food may have side-effects far beyond the obvious obesity epidemic in the western world. Humans where never made to live on a diet of fat and carbohydrates and the old saying “you are what you eat” probably holds true in more than one sense. The comfortable modern life-style enhance this issue, not only does it increase the general tendency towards obesity, but physical exercise is a well-known and clearly effective way of helping and preventing depressions. A healthy body goes a long way in creating a healthy mind.

A final factor most people are not aware of, when it comes to keeping both the mind and the body healthy, is sleep. We simply sleep too little! We known that in general, an average grown person needs 7-9 hours of sleep per 24 hours, children need more and elderly need some less. Yet, a great number sleep far less than this, having problems getting the hours to go around for everything that needs doing, or what one want to do. This can be seen as a side-effect of the  stressful and demanding life-style of the modern world. One might think that “ok, so I don’t sleep enough, so what”, but that is probably before you’ve had a look at some recent scientific research. It points to the fact that too little sleep makes the brain act funny, basically it makes you feel more hunger than you actually have, leading you to eat more. What do you eat? Fat and carbohydrates. This alone increases the risk of a wide array of diet-related health problems. This wouldn’t be so scary if the sleep deprivation didn’t lead to an extreme increase in the diabetes risk. In a research project, young, healthy college students was sleep deprived for a week or so, at the end of that week most had developed the early symptoms of diabetes, that even if they were not overfed with unhealthy food.

Hope’s Lost

Ultimately, the causality of suicidality can and will be subject for research, theories and numerous attempts to explain will and are being made. On a personal level this might hardly matter at all. The most common description of that a suicidal feel is despair. When a human being perceives that it is in an unfortunate situation that is impossible to improve, desperation and despair tend to emerge. It might not even be a depression in the oh-so-common western sense, but simply have to do with general living conditions. From the farmer in India, whose crops have failed yet again, sinking him and his family into bottomless debt, to the catholic homosexual that is not recognized and accepted by his family. Their motives may vary but their state of mind is the same. Life’s too big to live.

Right And Wrong Is A Matter of Perspective

The mainstream public view in most cultures, as much as that of psychologists and other know-it-alls, is always that it is something that should be avoided at all costs. This perception is very difficult to challenge, and extremely unpopular too. For those having lost someone, understanding why their loved ones choose to depart is often impossible, the sorrow blinds and in many cases the departed was clearly not healthy. Psychological theory more or less dictates that suicide cannot be the choice of a healthy mind, forming the foundation from which modern juridical logic gains the scientific theory to define suicide as a crime. This is further enhanced by the religious theory present in the major world religions that has a strong influence on a society’s ethical and moral payload. All in all, this brings us to where we are today in most countries, where both morally and legally suicide is considered as a no-no, something that is probably problematic itself, because it has a potential to increase the feeling of guilt suicidal individuals carry. The fact that suicide is considered to be so wrong, makes it harder to talk about it, and easier to just contain the feelings within one’s own mind. When it comes to a matter such as suicide, one can hardly be too open or too accepting. People commit suicide because they feel out of touch with the rest of the world, they feel misunderstood, they feel like nothing matters and they feel that their personal pain is too big to handle anymore.

Now, why do we feel so strongly against suicide? Well, the theory of evolution can be used to explain why suicide traditionally is seen upon as something undesirable. Human beings are the last (but not ultimate) link in a long, long chain of life forms, stretching back millions of years. For a life form to actually live and reproduce some basic instincts are required, for instance it feel hungry and it want to breed. In simple life forms, this is unconscious, but as a life form evolves, acquires intelligence and complexity, this becomes a more and more conscious understanding. In the case of humans, as any other life form, we are where we are because the desire to live is very strong and totally fundamental for our existence. Through millions of generations this have been the ultimate and solely most important mechanism, thus logic dictates that the inheritance of this desire is exceptionally well-developed in a highly evolved form of life such as humans. It is so strong, that most will kill to save their own life and so obvious that we have problems comprehending that anyone would not want to live. Faced with those that do not want to live, another fundamental instinct of our race kicks in, the run-with-the-crowd instinct, which basically is the fear of anything that is different from ourselves or our perceptions. We to a certain extent fear those who make a choice we can’t or won’t make ourselves.

Putting evolutionary theory into use can be fun and interesting, but it is not always as feasible as it might seem. The most obvious logic flaw in this equation is the cultural element. While in western culture, suicide is commonly strongly opposed, there are cultures that prize suicide as a virtue, often with basis in religious sentiments. If an idea like that can get footing in a culture affecting thousands and even millions of people, this proves more than anything else, that we’ve moved beyond evolutionary mechanisms, or are certainly able to suppress them. The attitude towards suicide is in fact, very much dependent upon cultural bias, thus we must be very careful when claiming it’s right or wrong based on personal morale and ethics. A healthy doze of cultural relativism may surely come in handy we discuss this matter.

The Ultimate Execution Of One’s Right To Self-Determination?

No matter what kind of sentiments you have towards suicide, there are cases where most people find it hard to object against it. Take the ongoing euthanasia debate going on in many parts of the world these days. If you’re mortally ill, or are being turned into a vegetable, should you not be able to choose your own path? Legally this is strongly opposed in many countries, but amongst the common man, this choice, to end one’s life to avoid pain and/or a slow death inside a malfunctioning shell of a body, is often an obviously acceptable and morally justifiable conviction. The core of the euthanasia debate is to what extent people are supposed to have the right to self-determination and the biggest problem is perhaps the fear that if you accept suicide in some cases, why or how are you supposed to deny people the legal and moral right in a general perspective? Euthanasia strongly conflicts with core elements of our judicial systems and established moral base and it is a boundary, that once crossed, marks a fundamental change and can generate a wide array of potential problems. I.e. for instance claimed-to-be euthanasia that are in fact outright murders. Also, who are to decide if someone are ill enough, yet mentally able to make a conscious choice on the matter? Most countries today do not have the death penalty, often due to the philosophical belief that the state are not allowed to decide if its inhabitants live or die. If the state does not have the right to murder by the letter of the law, how can the state possibly claim the right to decide if you can kill yourself or not?

It has been my personal conviction for many years, that suicide is the ultimate execution of one’s right to self-determination. A view that is controversial in my own western culture, and certainly not without pitfalls. The fundamental question is of course, can suicide be a conscious, clear and justifiable choice? Or, is it always the choice of a mentally deranged and sick mind? Now there are people obviously very ill from mental disorders, there are people that are affected by medications and drugs, rendering their minds incapable of making a logically comprehensible and valid chain of thoughts. A certain portion of those departing by suicide, were simply not making a truly conscious choice, instead they did something they would not have done if they’d been healthy. Yet, you can’t claim that hundreds and thousands of people committing suicide each day are all mentally deranged, or affected by some chemical substance not naturally belonging in their veins and brains. Yet, this is an ideological and philosophical debate a much as a practical reality.

I have to ask, a healthy choice, can that only be what society dictates is right? A right choice, is that only the choice that brings least possible pain to the people around you? What is most important, the people you love and care for, or your self and your personal demons? In the case of suicide, clearly the ones choosing that path have already decided on the latter, yet that does not mean they do not feel regret for doing as they do. The typical “I’m sorry” note left next to the dead body, indicates this better than anything else. People committing suicide are not necessarily stone cold crazy, they might in fact be more in touch with their own feelings and consciousness than many others, making an extreme statement about their life and existence. If you are not allowed to decide whether you live or die, how can you truly be said to be free? Cannot suicide be considered the most extreme way of expressing one’s freedom of speech?

Personally I’ve always found a kind of comfort in the knowledge that if everything get screwed up totally, I can always put a gun to my head. There’s always one last possible way to escape it all. This actually makes it easier for me to enjoy life as it is, because the ability to perform self-slaughter is what I consider the ultimate freedom, no-one can take that away from me. This does not mean I contemplate suicide on a daily, or even a monthly or yearly basis, but the knowledge of the option is soothing nonetheless. Having said this I do not condone of suicide in general, and I consider it a major social issue that we must strive to abolish. Yet I want the legal and moral right to decide over my own life and I strongly disagree with the common letter of the law concerning this issue. Yes, the bereaved and moral watchers often claim that suicide is a cowardly act, something the weak chooses. Oh yes, it can be hard to choose life, and it might require a lot of personal strength, but to end it yourself, requires equally much strength, albeit from a different reservoir. Suicide is said to be selfish, yes of course it is, probably the most selfish act there is. Yet the term “selfish” normally refers to favoring oneself. I say, the truly selfish are the ones that believe they have a God-given right to live, that they are so important that they have to live for the sake of others. That gives me a bitter after-taste of arrogance and haughtiness. After all, death is as natural as life and have anyone the right to put a prize on the lives of others? Every life, every existence has a value that matters only to the life-form itself and it is that life-forms choice how to manage it.

Entering The Suicidal Mind

Well, this is truly the really hard part. You can write so much, discuss and elaborate causes, reasons and acknowledge the realities, yet changing someone else’s mind is extremely difficult. When people have settled their mind and filled it up with convictions, changing those may be next to impossible.

From the stories I hear, the people I talk to and the things I read, it never cease to amaze me that many suicidal people are fairly adept at hiding how they really are. While some have a long history “call-for-help” suicide attempts, many have, according to their friends and family, never shown any affinity for suicidality before the disaster strikes. Far from everyone suicidal go around with T-shirt stating that they want to die, printed in large, unfriendly letters. Outward appearances might even be the one of a seemingly healthy individual. They may even say when directly asked that “I’m ok”. Few things are subject to so much prejudice and shame as suicidality. This can have several effects, one of them is that it can potentially increase the feeling of despair and loneliness, also, that one may go to great lengths to hide the condition.

If you know or suspect someone is suicidal, you have a few options. You can seek out authorities and try to get the person into some kind of medical or therapeutic treatment. My personal scepticism towards the science of psychology is considerable, but I do acknowledge the authority of this science concerning this subject. It is an unmistakable fact that people working within this field have more training in dealing with suicidal people than anyone else. They have to be able to get something right. If they don’t understand or appreciate the full complexity of the many perspectives a suicidal mind may have, they are able to relieve many cases and help people to a better life. Other than that, never leave them out of sight. You need privacy to murder yourself.

Authors Personal Notes To The Suicidal Individual

I am not a psychologist, doctor or highly educated therapist. I am just a human being that have felt the dark sides of my mind loom much more than what was comfortable. I cannot possibly comprehend what you feel, what you’re going through or how  you feel about yourself and your existence. No-one except you can. What I can claim, is that I’ve been somewhere in the general vicinity of where you are. I’ve felt sorrow, regret, despair and emotional pain so strong it’s made my chest and belly into one big, hard awful knot. Yet, I’m still here, kickin’ an’ screamin’. I can’t save you and I’m very uncertain whether I can help you at all. Perhaps if you’ve read this article you’ve got some fresh impulses, maybe you see yourself and your condition in a slightly different perspective. I certainly hope so. If you feel I’ve added another stone to your burden, that was certainly not my intention. What you make of this and your life, is in fact entirely up to you. You must note that I am writing this from my own perspective as a humanist and atheist and my primary belief is that human beings control their own fate and that it is not only a privilege but our responsibility to make the best out of what we’ve got.

“..The first rule of the suicide club is, talk to someone. Second rule of the suicide club is talk to…”

Good night and good luck.

Ps. I am open for any input, both public as a comment to this article, or privately per mail. I will of course treat your response with outmost confidentiality if that is your wish.