The so-called ‘psychotically depressed’ person who tries to kill herself doesn’t do so out of quote ‘hopelessness’ or any abstract conviction that life’s assets and debits do not square. And surely not because death seems suddenly appealing. The person in whom Its invisible agony reaches a certain unendurable level will kill herself the same way a trapped person will eventually jump from the window of a burning high-rise. Make no mistake about people who leap from burning windows. Their terror of falling from a great height is still just as great as it would be for you or me standing speculatively at the same window just checking out the view; i.e. the fear of falling remains a constant. The variable here is the other terror, the fire’s flames: when the flames get close enough, falling to death becomes the slightly less terrible of two terrors. It’s not desiring the fall; it’s terror of the flames. And yet nobody down on the sidewalk, looking up and yelling ‘Don’t!’ and ‘Hang on!’, can understand the jump. Not really. You’d have to have personally been trapped and felt flames to really understand a terror way beyond falling.
7 comments
Wow I really like that say a lot for me it feel as if I’m hanging outside the window
PREACH.
Not sure how long I can hold on for
That is an excellent explanation I wish all people would read. But I believe there is a small percentage of suicides that occur because the person has an unnaturally low instinct for self preservation. So they may find the act of suicide easier than the average human does. Either way you’re right, the fear of flames outweighs the fear of falling, and that’s what leads to the jump.
I want to print this out for my suicide note soon. And I will. This is the ultimate, PERFECT explanation. Luke you’re wonderful. This is possibly the greatest analogy I’ve ever read on suicide, the differences between continuing to live, or proceeding by death.
Thank you all for reading my posts.And goodluck to u all ,take care.
OMG. YES!