The suicide rate has been climbing for years, especially among young people. Why is this happening? What can be done about it? How does the Church view suicide, especially in light of advances in understanding mental health issues over the past few decades? Have you lost a loved one to suicide? Today’s show will addresses many of these issues, and we welcome your takes as we delicately make our way through what remains a very tragic and difficult subject.
Take 2 with Jerry & Debbie 
October 20, 2015 at 1:10 pm
My Father committed suicide 20 days before his 70th birthday which caught us off guard because he was angry at his Father for doing so. We know he was in pain physically but not how bad until we got the autopsy report. I wasn’t Catholic at the time, I am now. My Priest said that at the last minute, he could have turned to our Lord and been saved. I feel better about that.
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October 20, 2015 at 11:52 pm
“HOW SHOULD WE VIEW SUICIDE?”-I didn’t hear this show, but it happens I work as a Mental Health Technician for a major mental health provider in their inpatient/non-medical emergency facility. Primarily I see suicide survivors. Those who succeed at suicide end
up at the coroners office, not our facility. In any case, suicide and pain are interrelated. The person who succeeds at suicide is in so
much pain that at that moment in time, they determine-erroneously, that the only way to make the pain stop is to end their life, as if
ending one’s life was some sort of analgesic. At the moment of impact, a lot of other things stop in addition to the pain, too – but if the survivor stories show anything, its that both the suicide survivor as well as completer haven’t thought things through any further
than that, namely that its somehow an option that gets mistaken for some kind of coping skill. I also notice that many of those who
survive a suicide attempt don’t at all indicate any affilliation with any religion or spirituality. They won’t name their religion or their
faith tradition much less the church or synagogue they may attend. In eight years, only a few ever indicate anything of their spiritual
lfie. I view both the survivors and completers with as much commpassion and empathy as I can summon. It would help if more people would participate in their own treatment beyond taking the med or payinjg the bill (or not, as the case may be.) There’s also needless stigma attached to suicide, whether successfully attempted or failed. I pray for them all whether or not they’re on our unit.
-sincerely, patrick
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