I have heard (more than I ever want to) from some that suicide is freedom. Suicide is death, so that means if suicide is freedom, death is freedom (according to the math).
Let’s unpack that for a second. To make sure I got this right I looked up the definition of freedom, knowing that word is objective. It can be interpreted to mean so many things to so many people. Three definitions stood out to me most:
1) the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or physical restraint
2) exemption from external control
3) personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery
When you die, you are confined to a coffin.. subjected to people’s perception of you… not at liberty to change and better your circumstances or live out your purpose. Not free to love and be loved. You’re gone. All of those definitions, even the other two I did not list, imply that you have to be alive to experience freedom which means that death could not possibly equal freedom in any circumstance, no matter who you are.
Keep in mind, as someone who attempted suicide twice and thought this wasn’t true on multiple occasions I am aware of how simple this isn’t when struggling with mood disorders and mental illness. I say this because I can relate, and I say it because I believe that people are not thinking clearly when they attempt to take their lives.
To a clear mind it is obvious that suicide does not equal freedom, but to a mind that is clouded with illness, rejection, depression, anxiety, harsh words, bullying, abuse of all kinds, and death it is not so clear. How could it be when all of that other stuff I just listed (sometimes more) is DEEPLY rooted in someone’s mind, will, and emotions?
So remember, the next time you are tempted to say that phrase “Remember the guy/girl who gave up? Neither does anyone else” think that words like that are probably why they did give up. That there is a human life that matters on the other side of those words.
It’s a matter of going after people who believe that suicide is freedom and helping them shift their perspective so that the equation adds up. As I told my friend the other day, 1+1 does not equal a suicide attempt. It never has and it never will. It is time to help people who struggle, go after them, end stigma, and save some lives in the process.
Living and being open, community and support, overcoming and truth; that is freedom.
To view the new “Going After the Forgotten” project, click the link below.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/going-after-the-forgotten/x/5271595
Helpful tools for those who struggle:
http://yourenotfinished.com/get-help/
funny how even an attempt to convience others to stop suicide does not even fit for me 😉
i’m a transsexual woman late transition, i know that at current medical state there will never be a life without torture at a chance of 99 + percent.
i know intelectually that i am not the physical body and i don’t mean this in the transsexual way, but through some real research.
and given that the physical body i’m in is a prison, being free from it fully defines freedom even by your definitions of it.
not to forget that i’m very conscious and aware of what i’m doing, which again does not fit for the general suicide person.
of course a few written words won’t interfere with the decision i will come up with, but i hope this stuff written here will help those with hope in their life.
“i know intelectually that i am not the physical body and i don’t mean this in the transsexual way, but through some real research.”
I would love to see that research, or at least have knowledge as to where I can find it myself.
“given that the physical body i’m in is a prison, being free from it fully defines freedom even by your definitions of it.”
I’m not sure if I said this in the post, but all of those definitions imply that you have to be alive to experience freedom. How can one experience freedom in death?
I’m very sorry that you are struggling and have to go through all the torture that I can only imagine. I believe that you can actually live a life of peace regardless of what people are trying to do to you. Who says that the humans who torture you should be held in such a high regard? I know words hurt and can potentially kill, so I do not minimize the power of what people say. But what I am saying is that we have a greater power and authority within ourselves to cancel anything that anyone said over us. All they are are mere men and women. Our desire to be loved by them sometimes makes it so we put them on a pedestal and think that if were are not loved by them, then that means it is reflection of us when really it is a reflection of them.
What it sounds like is that you have been waiting for someone to unlock the key of the “prison” that you dwell in, and I believe that you have the key yourself… you just don’t know it. And it would require work in order for you to find it, but it would be worth it. I know because I almost died twice so I speak from experience. And for the record, that key is not suicide, because then that would mean that you die in bondage and as someone who genuinely cares I know that that is not something you deserve. I know that just based on your honesty. I took the time to respond personally not out of obligation, but care. So those are some things to consider.
You are loved for who you are. Thank you for your response, and please contact me if you ever need an ear.