Suicide is a very upsetting and baffling thing for people to cope with, but my view is this:
There are different kinds of suicide. There are reactions to a major crisis, there are people who live with unendurable mental suffering, some are spur of the moment, others a cry for help that goes wrong. Looking for signs, getting people to talk and get help, and loving them could (or not) make a difference. We need to be aware of the state of mind of people who are suffering.
Other suicides are a very rational choice where the individual concerned is exercising their right to live and die on their own terms. They may realize they are at the pinnacle of their life, they have done what they wanted to do, and want to check out on a high. Others may have a degenerative diagnosis and are choosing not to suffer. Others just want to control the way they die. We may suffer, but we also need to respect others’ free will. I have no intention of living in a situation where someone is cleaning my arse and I am wearing diapers, and bed no patronized by carers who think I don’t know my own mind. I will choose when I go, and that will be my choice and it should be respected. I am not there yet, but decrepit decline into an old people’s home is not what will be what happens to me. Fuck that.

There was an article i came across not a year or so ago that said a study was done on people with depression & found their cortisol levels weren't being processed like "normal" people.

Remember....EVEN GOOD STRESS RAISES CORTISOL! This explains why someone can appear to "have it all" and still check out.

I really hate people who judge those who've checked out as selfish. No one owes anyone else their existence or right to choose what they do with their own bodies. NO ONE. NOOOOO ONE!

Society is changing.

You used to have communities that were largely the same, within the community. Sure, one person might be a farmer, another a publican, another a blacksmith - but they lived in the same village, they knew each other, they were 'companions'. They may have been poor, but those they knew were also poor. They understood each other's position, and related to it.

That's just not the case now. Modern society is less personal. Less 'understood' by those in it. Everyone has heard about everyone else - but doesn't actually KNOW or UNDERSTAND those other people.

This adds to the stresses. Being poor is even harder to bear when you're always hearing about bastards flying in their private jets, driving their Porches and partying through the night - the sense of 'injustice' adds to the pressures you face.

Yet it happens to rich celebrities as well. What can be more soul-crushing than knowing your life is falling apart when you 'should' be living the 'perfect, celebrity life' and you're surrounded by people who you should be like, who seem to be having so much of a better time than you? There would be the sense of 'This SHOULD be heaven, so why is it HELL?'

I'm not surprised more people are killing themselves, to be honest, at all levels of the social ladder.

I lost an 18 year old nephew to suicide; he was not outwardly depressed and nobody knew why he did it.
Even with going through that...I’ve been on that edge too many times. I didn’t want to really die, but wanted the pain to stop. Only once was that physical pain, but I actually had a plan that time. I did tell someone and got help. Still if it becomes unbearable, I’ll be there again. Nobody has the right to determine that I must suffer on and on. I’m open about it to my kids. My daughter asked for the chance to talk me out of it, and she has. That helps, being able to talk about it.

The brain/mind is a very tangled web - you pull at 1 "thread" and it pulls at 1,000 others, and it tangles all of them. This is why mental health is so hard to figure out, especially depression.

What I have gathered about depression and suicide, after talking with others, is that often times the depressed person DOES see suicide as a logical decision, especially when they are in that dark place. While those of us on the outside just don't get how you could come that conclusion. Those who are depressed can view suicide, going out on their terms, the ultimate act of "getting control" of their lives.

BUT, that over simplifies it. As I said at the start, the brain is a tangled web - and sadly there is no easy solution.

Obviously you have not been depressed enough to even think about it, I have and even planned it out last year. I don't hate anyone who commits suicide because I understand it. There are times in ones life where its hopeless, you feel like a loser, a burden to others and would be better off dead, so before you say its a mental illness stop and think of what they might have been going thru. It was something so unbearable they simply could not go on. You did not walk in their shoes so you have no idea what was going on in their mind. I say this with a kind tone and not to offend, just want you to look at it differently is all.

My life is my own. I shall do with it what I want. Therefore, I will end it when I had enough. Please stop preaching and concentrate on managing your life your way.

the society is completely anti people

How can you hate something you knew nothing about ? Their choice, their lives and their circumstances. Leave it with them !

What depressed me, the United States living under an authoritarian president with mean spirited Republicans and followers. Every person has their own demons. Money doesn't buy happiness I know that. We can seek help and for me as a political activist working against Trumps policies and Republican legislature, and working for our new candidates I feel better. I have to be in the fight, won't give up or give in.

Mental illness seems to be a malaise of first world cultures, and worsening (or at least becoming more apparent) as we advance... We are doing something wrong. Maybe we're losing touch with what we're evolved to be? We no longer strive to survive — perhaps we need that?

anger and depression? yup, the stupidity of humans can drive you there.

Why? everyone is going to die & their lives are one of the few things a human owns, bought & paid for.
I plan to take myself out when things go seriously south one day.

Several months ago I read an article in our local paper about 'suicide'. I wrote a long letter and made some posting here on this site about this. My late partner adopted out states Death with Dignity program when she discovered she had a brain tumor. The BIG problem is that people are not given choices for when they are confronted with the problem of living a life of suffering and being allowed to die. Only 5 states have the Death with Dignity program and more and more people are clamoring for it. 2 countries, Netherlands and Switzerland have a program offering Euthanasia. Only Switzerland offers it to outsiders. This is a long and complicated issue. Not all suicides are wrong and everyone should have the choice to end their life when they feel the need. There used to be a group called the 'Hemlock Society'. It is now called "Final Exit Network'. [finalexitnetwork.org]

Two reasons (and more) have contributed to the epidemic increase in suicide rates in the US - (1) the easy availability of guns. The incidence of suicide is much higher in households where there are guns. (2) circumstances having to do with the economy and the quality of life. For many people wages have been stagnant and obstacles to a good quality of life have been rising. The costs of health care, education, food, gas and other products and services keep rising while almost half of the population lives below the poverty line.

Is there a correlation between being a celebrity and number of suicides? If there is, I'll pass on my '15 minutes' then.

Hear is how Pandora would answer that question are there more suicides because more people are killing them selves or are there more suicides because more suicides are being reported because the information is in greater numbers?

I struggle with clinical depression and repressed memory as well. I understand the struggle. I see suicide not as someone who has given up, but someone who has lost their battle against mental illness. That's what mental illness is: a battle against a mind and emotions that betray and torment you constantly. The state of affairs in this country doesn't do much to help. We need things to look forward to. The mentally ill who continue on MUST band together and support each other. If no one is going to help us, the strongest among us need to organize and help make the world a better place for us. I, for one, do my best to fight and advocate for better mental health care. I know it's hard. I hope everyone who is able to fight with us will. We can do this.

I believe media plays a role, but with no easy answers. Are other people inspired by school shootings, terrorism, suicide, etc. by seeing/hearing about others doing the same? I tend to think so.

It's a viable option. What else can I say. Perhaps "Having it all" isn't all it's cracked up to be. I think being able to have a private life would be preferable to living in a goldfish bowl. After all, they are just human.

Well, it is certainly a tough decision that requires courage. I am somewhat baffled by your differentiation between celebirties and mere mortals.

Sadly, it's true that when it's a celebrity it brings to light something that so many grapple with every day. It's something I've been challenged with for years, especially decades ago when there was even more of a stigma surrounding mental illness. My hope is that it opens up another avenue for people to talk about it.

Maybe the preservatives, pesticides, hormones, etc in our food are causing mental problems.

I guess for celebrities who suicide they get to the point they have all the money they could ever need, they have fame, they have status, but they still have the mental anguish. And they look at it all and wonder what more can I do, they can have anything money can buy but money doesn't buy love or peace of mind and when you have it all you can't kid yourself that any of the things you have been able to achieve is the answer.
For the rest of us there is always the hope that a better job, more money, whatever will make things better, for them they know it hasn't worked and they've run out of ideas, stuck in a goldfish bowl, not knowing if people care about them or just the public persona which they see as divorced from their true self. The rest of us have more reason to hope than they do!

I caution you to use the word “normal” people. Celebrities are normal people with talent, high aspirations, and the insatiable need to be famous. Money and fame doesn’t create happiness. Contentment and inner peace create happiness. Anyone who obsesses over celebrities or feel their suicides are more important than the roughly 125 successful suicides in the U.S. each day (according to a recent article I read). When you compare your life to their life you fail to miss the beauty in your own life and therefore don’t experience happiness. And lastly the kids. Suicide does not end your suffering. It just passes it on to those who you left behind. Celebrity kids aren’t different. All kids are impacted and more so because of the financial burden on the rest of the “normal” family. I too recently went through a horrible time of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation with no official attempts. Unless you’ve been there you do not know how scary and powerful those thoughts are. Suicide in general is an epidemic. The government does not put enough funding in place for mental illness awareness or assistance and there is a lack in mental health workforce. My advice. Ignore the celebrities. Why do they matter to you. Take care of your own happiness and things you can control. I volunteer on the suicide hotline. You are obviously passionate about the subject. Advocate for the cause, not ruminate.