Suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally taking one’s own life. It can be defined as killing your self because of external and internal factors. These factors cause a person to believe taking their own life is the solution to their problems. However suicide is not an easy act to commit. We will never know who or how the first to kill himself did so. The majority of those who commit suicide have tried to kill themselves at least one time already. This is because committing suicide requires overcoming the fear of death. The fear of death stems from the self preservation instinct humans had instilled in them for millions of years. So how can people commit suicide? Many people think serve depression is the cause of suicide. Depression is a factor but not the primary cause of suicide. It is not depression but the inability to cope with that depression that can lead to suicide.

Depression is a serious mood disorder that eliminates all hope for the future and makes suicide seem like the only option. People assume that people are so deeply depressed that they no longer value their life and kill themselves. This may or may not be the case people that are depressed may still value life but they see suicide as the only way to solve their problem. Suicide committers may feel apologetic and angry with themselves before they commit suicide. Many people are depressed and do not commit suicide.

There are many factors that lead to suicide. Lack of social support can be a factor in leading to suicide. People in heavily populated areas have more social support and are less likely to commit suicide than are people in less populated areas. There are two reasons why. People in wide-open or rural areas tend to be more socially isolated, individualistic, and more dependent on themselves. They are less likely to seek help from others when facing personal problems. The second reason is white people tend to live in less populated areas and have a higher suicide rate than minorities. The reasons is whites experience less social regulation or more individual freedom than minorities. Whites even tend to kill themselves more in prison.

Whites make up the majority of the middle and upper class. Sociologist have said that the relatively well off are more likely to kill themselves than the poor because they have farther to fall in times of economic crisis. People that are not very religious are also more likely to commit suicide. They have no belief that god will punish them in the afterlife. Males also are much more likely to kill themselves than women. Men have greater opportunities for success and find it difficult to blame others when having problems in life. People that are divorced or have no children are more likely to kill themselves. This correlation shows that lack of social support plays a huge role in who is willing to take their own life.

Social ties tend to diminish with old age causing some to commit suicide. White males are more likely to kill themselves in old age. Their mental and physical abilities decline and it threatens their self worth. People that are dying or fatally ill have high suicide rates. These people have conquered the fear of death and would rather end their pain early.

According to Durkheim there are two major causes of suicide. First is social integration. Social integration