Who is to Blame for Suicide?

Suicide is a horrible tragedy that many people have to deal with at some point in their lives. I have personally been affected by suicide many times in my life.

When a person completes suicide, I've noticed that almost immediately the close family members try to find a cause, reason, or excuse for this tragedy. They start making wild accusations and eventually completely breakdown. They want to keep their loved one's memory alive, and in the most pleasing way. So they blame others, their environment, media, or even themselves.

I don't think a suicide can be blamed on any one factor. I don't think there is even a way to blame anything at all. A suicide happens when a person is in so much pain, and they cannot cope with it any longer. They are suffering and simply want to be at peace.

The way a person has been raised, and how they perceive themselves is very important. The way you look at yourself should never be overlooked. If you feel you are a good person, then it's likely you won't get those nasty thoughts that lead to suicide. Those thoughts of worthlessness can start when you feel vulnerable, and then snowball out of control. That's where someone you trust again becomes vital. If a person has caring parents that are encouraging, this doesn't necessarily mean they won't commit suicide. It just means that they will have a supportive outlet to help cope with their everyday problems. By being able to share your life with a parent, a close friend, a significant other, or even a therapist will help relieve stress. That person can help you handle your troubles, allowing you to work through your worries one step at a time. Without someone else in your life, everyday can be a struggle and no one is there to remind you how much you mean to them. I would not want to live a life where I had no one to care about, or where no one cared about me. You need someone there to allow you to vent about a problem, or share your opinion.

Suicide happens when their support system fails them. I'm not saying you should blame they friends and family for not noticing a change, but to the person that commits it definitely will be an influence. The victim of suicide hopefully tried all that they could to relieve the pain they were feeling, and it is possible that the pain got so far out of hand that they just didn't know what else to do.

There isn't just one factor that leads to a suicide. It normally starts with a large event or trauma, such as being laid off, a rape, or death of someone close to you. Other times stress over years from verbal abuse, obesity, or harassment build up inside a person until they cannot take it anymore. At that point, something triggers the decision; maybe they didn't want to face something, or were envious, or had failed too many times before. Some people choose to blame the years of unsaid feelings, while others blame the trigger.

I think suicide cannot be blamed on one thing alone, but it instead varies from case to case and from each circumstance. I think suicide is only an option once you have explored other solution possible. Suicide happens when emotions are mixed up and you cannot battle it out any more.