Suicide; Why Do People Choose It?

A young boy of about 17 years had a minor disagreement with his parents and the following morning his lifeless body was found dangling from a cord tied to the ceiling fan in his room. A suicide note was neatly tucked under his pillow and read in part “I decided to end it all and have peace since you never believe in me and would not allow me have peace…”

But what is suicide?
Suicide is the act of killing oneself, or the act of taking one’s own life. Terrible! Isn’t it? But what could make a teenager contemplate it at such a tender and promising age? Several factors actually contribute to one using suicide as a way of solving one’s problem or as a way of trying to escape from them. Some of these contributory factors include:

1.Rejection: Some people, having suffered from rejection either from parents or from friends see suicide as a way of ending it all. Most people who use this method of trying to escape from the problem of rejection are people who are from broken homes, whose parents went their own ways leaving them in the care of either their grand parents or their aunts/uncles. They eventually feel completely rejected by their parents and decide to end their lives.

2.Shame: This is one of the greatest reasons for suicide. Having been involved in an act that is so shameful e.g. stealing, adultery, etc some people decide to end their lives since they cannot stand the shame such act has brought. Others could be as a result of some shameful health problem such as epilepsy, or even sexual failure/impotence.

3.Failure: Failure in marriage, academics, business, dating, landing a job, etc could make one conclude he can never succeed in life and instead of living a life devoid of success the best option they conclude, is to take their life.

4.Hard drugs: drugs are capable of causing a distortion in the individual’s reasoning process, making him do what ordinarily he would never contemplate. An individual who is under the influence of drug is capable of doing any unreasonable and unthinkable thing including suicide. Suicide is contemplated when provoked while under the influence of the drug, or as a result of frustration due to failure or inability to obtain the drug at a particular time.

5.Terminal disease: Living in pain due to a terminal disease could be so traumatizing, and fed up with their emotional, psychological or mental pain, some decide to suffer no more by taking the option of suicide as a way of stopping further pains. Some of the terminal conditions that can make one think of suicide include Liver cirrhosis, aplastic anaemia, cancer of the bowel, cancer of the lungs, leukemia, sickle cell disease, HIV/AIDS, etc.

6.Psychiatric illness: Suicide is very common in people suffering from one form of psychiatric illness or the other. Notable among such psychiatric illnesses are Depression, Schizophrenia, etc

7.Loss of fortune: Loss of estate, business, dear one, personal property, etc can also make one think of ending one’s life due to frustration or loss of hope of ever regaining what has been lost.

8.Poverty: Poverty/Penury is one thing nobody ever wishes to experience – one is unable to afford three quality meals daily, unable to properly clothe oneself and one’s family, unable to pay children’s school fees, can’t afford decent accommodation, and sometimes one is victimized or oppressed. Passing through harrowing experiences for a long time could make one think of a way of ending everything.

9.Discrimination: Discrimination of whatever type could bring emotional and psychological stress which could eventually culminate in suicide.

However, it should be noted that suicide does not actually solve a problem; it is rather the cowardly way of trying to escape from it. The best way to solve a problem is to face it squarely and deal with it. The word of God makes it clear that murderers shall go to hell fire (Matt.5:21-22, Exodus 20:13, Deut.5:17). Suicide is murdering oneself and when one takes that option he invariably takes the option to go to hell fire. Avoid it for it does you no good.