Fascinating post, OSW. One point, and somewhat of a counterpoint, that I'd like to mention is the idea that life was simpler hundreds or thousands of years ago and how that might relate to suicidal tendencies in the modern demographic. Something I have been thinking about lately is the concept that people simply used to act, and now we are all so in our heads that we stress over the tiniest things. This was inspired by my play through recently of Assassin's Creed 2, and partially inspired by a topic I read recently on GBAtemp where someone asked for dating advice.
At the very beginning of that game, and small spoilers here but its barely even a part of the game for more than 2 minutes, the main character, Ezio, seduces and then has sex with I believe either the daughter of a powerful man, or his wife. This leads to threats of death and whatnot when the father or husband finds out. I bring this up because how many times have we heard this story throughout history? Men and women literally willing to risk penalty of death (as adultry was a major crime in many societies) in order for one night of passion.
Alternative, Leonardo da Vinci, keeping in mind I may be thinking of another famous inventor/artist, but I believe I have the right one. Men like him who were entirely in their heads. Always thinking about the philosophical, questioning religion, politics, etc. Great individuals who accomplished a great deal, but whom most would call eccentric. These men of history were known to have exceptionally passionate love lives. Most of them had multiple mistresses, and yet, they were in their own heads.
Today we over think every detail of our lives. Should I ask her out, should I kiss that person, should I say this or that, will I lose my job if I do this, etc. It causes undue stress, but that stress is one that all people through the modern society feel at one point or another. The irony is that although our lifespans have been expanded from living to 30 to live to 95, we are more concerned about the time we have and what we have done with it than ever before.
Additionally, in days of old we had no time to think about such topics. Nowadays, for as busy as we all are, we have far too much time to just sit down in a room alone and question our life choices, which could potentially lead to focusing on the darker parts.
However, I do not believe that everyone who does so is necessarily mentally unhinged on some level. There are many extremely small reasons someone may feel the pressures of the world, but as our own mthrnite says, all pain is local. One doesn't need to be a cancer patient or victim of theft to feel badly about parts of their life. For a person with an exceptional life, falling in a puddle may be a month long low. There is always going to be someone who is worse off, if you consider it that way no one would ever do anything with their lives. "Sure, I lost my job, but at least I don't have a tumor". Losing your job is still bad, and could potentially cripple your life from that point onward if you had no further prospects.
The key to understanding someones "local" pain is to read beyond the simple answer, I feel. Sure, someone saying "I do not have a girlfriend, I should kill myself" sounds like an overreaction, but what if they are 40? What if they are a virgin? What if all women look at them and say "Wow, this person is a 40 year old virgin, they must have some series issues, I don't feel like getting involved with that baggage" (I watched the 40 Year Old Virgin recently, if you can't tell xD).
When you start piecing together the details beyond that simple initial statement, yeah, I could picture someone killing themselves over that. Never having a mate? The one and only important thing in this world that we are literally built for? Imagine the failure one must feel, being unable to succeed at doing what we are biologically unable to fight. When in reality, the only thing that person has wrong with them is that so many people wrote him off as "having issues", that they never gave him a chance. You can't fight that, not when it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with other peoples perspectives of you.
My point here is that sometimes these tiny details that seem so pointless and melodramatic to people who aren't in that situation, are actually much larger issues that the individuals in question cannot overcome no matter how hard they try. Which makes it understandable that they may want to take their own lives. Struggling against futility for the remainder of your lifespan can't be much fun.
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Psionic Roshambo:
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SylverReZ:
