6/7/25-How We Deal with Suicide

Cindy told me Thursday is the 1 year anniversary of our first appointment with my oncologist.  That means it has been one year since our lives have been turned upside-down.  I have been reflecting on that year and there will be a post soon talking about my feelings, but this post is about something else that hit me this week, how our culture deals with death, specifically people who take their own lives.

I don't intend for this post to be another old man rant about today's culture, nor do I want it to be a post about my religious beliefs, but I am sure there will be some bits here where those things will come up.

Early this week, I was doing my daily time on YouTube, and I saw a CBS News story on a woman who has ALS.  The video chronicled her last 24 hours before she was prescribed a cocktail that would put her to sleep and give her a "peaceful and dignified" death.  It used the term MAID.  I had never heard that term before, but it stands for "Medical Aid In Dying" and is legal in about 10 states, with more coming soon according to the news story.

Later this week, I was reading Google News and saw a story about a person I knew of from TV that had died.  He was my age so I was curious what had happened to him.  The article said he had "Lost his battle with depression."  That confused me and I asked my family what that meant. I pretty much knew the answer, but I like to get a take from my family on questions of morality since they come from other backgrounds, ages and philosophies.  I just didn't see how a death certificate could list "depression" as a cause of death.  They all confirmed that he probably took his own life, but saying it that he lost a battle with depression is the accepted way of saying that so the article won't be flagged and can remain monetized.

Death is a part of life.  Its time we as a culture accept that.  Coming up with flowery terms to describe it doesn't change that everyone will face it someday.  Getting a doctor to give you a poison drink is euthanasia.  Losing a battle with depression is suicide.  Watching a YouTube video saying someone had chosen to "Self-delete" doesn't change what happened.

If we, as a culture, can't deal with death, specifically self-inflicted death, how are we ever going to help those who need it?  There seems to be a large number of people, based on polls, that are suicidal or looking for ways to die.  We need to let these people know that sometimes things might be bad, but there are people out there to help if they need it.  And hiding suicide under a different name doesn't do that.

I look at death not as a period, but a comma.  It is not the end of my life, but, because of my faith, the beginning of a new chapter.  But that doesn't mean I want this part of by journey to end.  I do remember a moment when my doctor talked about the option of physician assisted suicide.  California is one of the states where it is legal.  At that point we were thinking I had months to live.  I shut that conversation down quickly.  I am not one who is willing to think about ending my life before it is truly time.  That is God's will, not mine.

I am not judging those people who choose to end their own life.  Life is hard.  And some people think they need a way out.  I feel genuinely bad for them.  I just wish we could deal better with it as a culture.  If we call it what it is, suicide, rather than belittling it with other politically correct terms, maybe it will be harder for them to follow through.  We need to encourage them to get the help they need to deal with their demons.  Not hide behind language.