Some of the issues around potential suicides

I was speaking with two friends who each have a master's degree. And they were saying how I have never really been suicidal ever. What I was was an extreme risk taker which is different.

Another interesting point they made was that if a person is planning to commit suicide if you ask them about it they usually will confirm this fact with you. Then you can help create some sort of intervention at this point.

When I spoke to them about all this one of my friends had been there in 1969 especially when I was having the worst time from 1969, 1970 up until 1971. My point of view then was that my life wasn't something I wanted to continue because I felt I could no longer do what I expected to do with my life.

However, my friend made the point that I wasn't ever really in danger of directly killing myself. What I was in danger of was dying from racing cars. Rock climbing with thousands of feet of exposure. Jumping motorcycles so they rear bottom of the wheel is 8 feet off the ground and things like this.

So, my point of view then (when I was still single was: "It doesn't matter to me personally whether I live or not". which was true. So, my strategy was to maybe die having fun doing something dangerous so I would be gone quickly which is somewhat different than being suicidal but the end result is the same.

But, I would never just take my life because I couldn't live with that because I couldn't do that to my parents and friends. So, if I was alone with no relatives or friends I likely would be gone now.

But, because no man is an island I'm still here because of all the many people who loved me and the ones now still alive who love me still.

They were also saying they thought that people shouldn't talk about suicide to their children. My point of view is different. I think that people should talk about these kinds of issues out in the open because it seems to me often when people are going to commit suicide they don't say anything often and then they just do it. So, if you can see in people's lives if they are depressed beyond a certain point and you are worried about them maybe asking them what they plan to do with their lives might be an important thing to do.

By God's Grace