Suicide: Deliverance or The Dark Side of Dying?

SifuPhil said:
I'm sure, but perhaps I should have qualified: I'm talking about being in extreme physical pain, not a psychological problem. I know that to most people discussing suicide they would be the same, but to me they're like night and day.
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I'm not for suicide. Living' EVERY MOMENT of every day in horrific pain, and choosing suicide, I can understand. And it's not only "physical" pain that can drive one to the point of mind-numbing desperate need for relief of it when the only solution would be death.
 

SifuPhil said:
That's an interesting point. I think it's because most people see animals as beneath humans, as being somehow deserving of less consideration. To them, the taking of an animal's life is in no way equal to the taking of a human life, because everyone KNOWS humans are worth more. :rolleyes:
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In my opinion humans are not worth more. I told my wife if our (meanwhile deceased) cat and I would need an extremely expensive surgery at the same time to use the money for our cat.
 

George1959 said:
In my opinion humans are not worth more. I told my wife if our (meanwhile deceased) cat and I would need an extremely expensive surgery at the same time to use the money for our cat.
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That's interesting. I feel somewhat the same. I've already had a good number of years, so no desire to hang onto life indefinitely by undergoing extensive surgeries, chemo, etc. - I've known several older people who did all that only to go through a lengthy, painful recovery, with complications afterward, or died within weeks or months after the procedures anyway.
 
I still think that ACCEPTANCE of ALL bad things, which happen to us, is the best approach. I have had some bad pain moments from my arthritis but I have found that playing the computer game, "Civilization VI," removes the pain by DISTRACTION! I've made it to 90 with horrific pain at times but just start that game and all the pain disappears. Civilization VII has some bad bugs so stay with Civilization VI.

In the end EVERY HUMAN BEING dies and most die with terrible pain and impairment. Our species is plagued by that kind of ending. The only species, which never dies or suffers, is the JELLYFISH. It appears that that species is far more advanced in coping with death since they never die. We poor humans ALWAYS die in the end with terrible pain and impairment.
 
C50 said:
I don't care what the law is or what religion says nor have any concerns of moral constricts about suicide, if I want to do it I'm going to do it. I hope I never have to make the decision but if I'm faced with a very poor quality of life I hope I'm brave enough to end it on my terms.
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You will never be ready. Poor quality of life yes, but you are still alive and that has meaning. God decides.........you endure until he decides. Very simple. YOU DON'T GIVE UP! Understand? You never give up! you. never. give up. Got it!
 
SifuPhil said:



On the plus side we have quality of life issues, the right to self-terminate and the question of self-determination.

Where do YOU fall in this spectrum? Do you believe in suicide, and if so under what conditions? If not, under ANY conditions, what is your reasoning?
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Hadn't ever thought about this until as a Victim of Covid at age 52 my youngest son chose death because of no quality of life.

Somehow his spine became infected with sepsis. Surgery to remove was an option with the warning that paralysis could happen. It did along with needing to be on a ventilator. Once out of surgery & a few days in recovery he would be a quadriplegic for the rest of his life. On top of that lung failure & being tied to a ventilator with no hope of breathing without it the doctor explained his options.
1. Live as a quadriplegic on a ventilator
2.or have a pain killer injected & remove the ventilator to see if he could survive without it.

Blink once for yes to #1 or blink twice for option #2.

With witnesses including two of his sons in the room he blinked twice.
 
Knight said:
I'm curious. If God determines when. Do you think that decision includes how?
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I never thought of it that way. Interesting. Yet it just came to me God does not determine how we die, because I don't believe He had anything to do with the CAUSE of our deadly illness. HOW we die is the resulting consequence of the illness, no matter how it came about.
 
C50 said:
I don't care what the law is or what religion says nor have any concerns of moral constricts about suicide, if I want to do it I'm going to do it. I hope I never have to make the decision but if I'm faced with a very poor quality of life I hope I'm brave enough to end it on my terms.
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You never know what God has in store for you or those you leave behind. You never know but you fight until God decides to take you. At that point you have accepted his wisdom and guidance and you will never be without his loving care. He needs only to know your heart and your actions provide that. Never give up! trust in God.
 
rbtvgo said:
You will never be ready. Poor quality of life yes, but you are still alive and that has meaning. God decides.........you endure until he decides. Very simple. YOU DON'T GIVE UP! Understand? You never give up! you. never. give up. Got it!
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and that is your choice - if you are in pain, no quality of life and you want t o go on living or think God wants that - do so. Nobody is forced to take voluntary dying.

You have the right to choose.

But you don't have the right to take choice away from others.
 
I have my DNR filled and notarized, my last wishes with all my info the family will need also. When we moved back to Mo. I chose not buy a house but rent instead to avoid the family squabble/responsibilities, etc that go along with it. Then I made copies and gave each of my sons one, so no one can hopefully say they were cheated or that it wasn't done right or fair. I already died twice and the fear of dying is long gone. How it comes to what the end will actually be is the unknown.
If I make it to ICU, I have strict wishes that I only see the 4 faces I love the most in that room, 3 sons and husband. Last time I didn't get to see my sons near enough due to the others taking the rules of time and how many at one time to their advantage. Those are the last faces I hope I see, need to see. I love them all but if you have children, you know what I mean.
My late husband died of colon cancer, they gave him 6 mths when diagnosed, he said "To hell with that I have things I have to get done to leave my family in a better position" He had his chemo and did well, never got ill, if he did he never let us see it.
He lived 4 more years and finished all he hoped to except the drywall on one wall of the boys room. He ate pain pills like candy the last 3 months he was alive when it began to grow again and I saw that light leaving his eyes a little bit each day.
Our sons were 12 and 15 and his last coherent wishes were for me to keep them on the right path not to let either of them use him as an excuse to mess up their life. He wasn't afraid for himself, he was for his sons.
He wanted to pass at home quietly, keeping us out of unnecessary debt after he died.
The weekend the Hospice nurse told us to gather the family, time was near. We all had a talk as they arrived to confirm they all knew his wishes and they agreed.
But when he slipped into that coma they seemed to have forgotten his wishes and began sobbing for us to call an ambulance. I had to stand there as my 2 sons cried for them to please just let him go like he wanted, don't make him suffer anymore.
I do not want that repeated, it was ugly and so hurtful to all involved.
My sons went to kiss their father goodbye then I laid my head by his cheek and whispered "You can go now Carl, we will be fine, we love you, we will be fine" He took his last breath 2-3 minutes later.
I don't know if he heard all that mess before then and was just hanging on for those last loving hugs and words.
My point to this is...even though it was not assisted dying on our part but his wishes, it was taken as if it had been from some because I refused to call that ambulance even after the nurse told them... His body is shutting down now, say your goodbyes.
I have asked myself if I get to a point where life has no hint of a little joy each day to look forward to, would I call for help if I felt a heart attack begin.
Right now, I would say no, I would lie down and end this ride.
Because I know when I died a voice told me as I was surrounded in total darkness, "You will be fine"
I know it happened because the cardiologist told me when I came back, she leaned to my ear and said,
Darling you are going to be ok now" she said I whispered back "I know, He told me"
The next morning it occurred to me that all I saw was darkness, no light like you hear about in so many accountings.
I wondered about that for weeks, all I can figure is, it wasn't my time so I was not being pulled to the light, as they say. I admit...that fact worried me a bit.
I know this thread was about suicide yes or no... I think the statement in bold is the question to answer from deep in your heart to yourself.
 
rbtvgo said:
You never know what God has in store for you or those you leave behind. You never know but you fight until God decides to take you. At that point you have accepted his wisdom and guidance and you will never be without his loving care. He needs only to know your heart and your actions provide that. Never give up! trust in God.
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Do you think suffering will land you a better seat in heaven? And what about palliative care to help transition to death, or morphine to ease pain during those final days? Acceptable? Or would that negate the suffering necessary to let your God know you're worthy?
 
Fritz said:
To those of you replying to Phil...he is no longer with us so he can't read or respond to these posts. He's been gone a long time.
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Even though Phil has left the building he's with us in spirit only according to his avatar.

As someone whose life has been touched and shaped by suicide I feel that every suicide is as individual as the person who takes their own life. Some suicides are top level tragedies which inflict pain and suffering on those who are left behind to deal with the aftermath, others such as those who are terminally ill are a merciful release and an end to their suffering.
I would rather end my life on my own terms than be an inmate of the aged care system dying slowly with little to no dignity. In the meantime life is for living and live it I shall quality of life is my main determinant rather than quantity of years, months and days logged in the register

There is no such thing as assisted suicide because suicide by definition is self inflicted death, but that won't stop people using the term. Euthanasia, medically assistance in dying (MAID) and other terms are the terms that should be used for those who wish to seek death on their own terms as opposed to those who would rather die naturally or when they believe the deity calls them.
I've said this before but my my mother, an ex-army nurse from a medical family was supporter of voluntary assisted dying but she did not live long enough to have that option. In later years she conned her way out of hospital numerous times but finally the treating physicians saw through her ploys, she was told that that she could not go back to her apartment at the retirement village but that she would go to a high care facility. In the end she refuse and antibiotic treatment for sepsis and was given medication for pain and nausea. I held her hand as she died, sje lived and died on her own terms and I'm inspired by that.

Nursing homes?
Hell no we won't go...
 
I worship Mars, the God of War. Thus, I am prepared to die in a nuclear war! I am 90 now and subject to lots of pain and increasing impairment. I accept everything which happens to me. My solution to terrible arthritis pain is to play Civilization VI where I can kill MILLIONS in the game and allow the suffering of my victims in the game to distract me from my own pain.
 

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