Suicide

#1

Post by llambda » Tue, Dec 13, 2011, 6:54 PM UTC

Suicide
raganwald.posterous.com

Re: Suicide

#2

Post by raganwald » Tue, Dec 13, 2011, 7:04 PM UTC

My thanks to @knowtheory for pointing out that suicidal people often feel alone/apart/disconnected from other people. I struggle with this, myself.

Re: Suicide

#3

Post by mrb » Tue, Dec 13, 2011, 7:10 PM UTC

This reminds me of http://www.google.com/search?q=+commit+suicide which returns a help message (generally a phone number to a suicide prevention service in your country).

Re: Suicide

#4

Post by cellurl » Tue, Dec 13, 2011, 7:11 PM UTC

'should mention that the call isn't tracked or whatever.

Re: Suicide

#5

Post by llambda » Tue, Dec 13, 2011, 7:12 PM UTC

raganwald wrote: post #2

My thanks to @knowtheory for pointing out that suicidal people often feel alone/apart/disconnected from other people. I struggle with this, myself.

Thank you for the post, raganwald. It's always good to have a reminder, no matter how many times it may have been said before. I personally really appreciate it.

Re: Suicide

#6

Post by simon » Tue, Dec 13, 2011, 7:12 PM UTC

Wonderful thought and worthwhile effort. And I see that Facebook is also making similar efforts. I'm glad to see that.

My meta-thought about this is how do you make this proactive instead of passive? If you don't visit raganwald or Facebook, how will you get any encouragement this Christmas season?

I've often thought that some corners of the Internet could benefit from a virtual chaplain who could approach members of their online community if they suspected something was wrong. Or they could be a low threat pre-suicide (or other issue) conversation and make themself very approachable for those moving in that direction to try to steer them onto more healthy directions.

Is this a good idea, or is it just my inner pastor thinking out loud?

Re: Suicide

#7

Post by dragonquest » Tue, Dec 13, 2011, 7:14 PM UTC

Ok, that was a little scary as a title considering the URL was raganwald's blog. I had to click it fast to ensure that all was safe. Perhaps a better title, atleast on HN is in order?

Re: Suicide

#8

Post by mynameishere » Tue, Dec 13, 2011, 7:17 PM UTC

The Christmas/suicide link is a myth you know.

Re: Suicide

#9

Post by narag » Tue, Dec 13, 2011, 7:17 PM UTC

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a reference to a meetup that points to a mail list:

   https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech

Unfortunately there is no direct link to the message, but here is the pasted header, if someone is interested in looking for it in the archive:

Forwarded message

From: Mitch Altman Date: Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 12:59 PM Subject: [Noisebridge-discuss] Geeks & Depression meetup To: NoiseBridge Discuss

Re: Suicide

#10

Post by landonhowell » Tue, Dec 13, 2011, 7:18 PM UTC

Kudos to raganwald for saying what many think, but never muster the courage to say it.