It’s been bothering me for a while that the definition of suicide assumes what’s in the minds of those who complete suicide. How can we possibly know what someone else is or was thinking? We can’t.
However, the NIH states: “Suicide is when people harm themselves with the goal of ending their life, and they die as a result.”
Do you see the error? We can not possibly know what someone’s actual goal is at the point of suicide. Many do not leave a note, so how can we say they wanted to die? For those who do leave a note, we can’t know the pain they are experiencing. From the research we now have, the vast majority of those who die by suicide do not want to die. They want to end their pain, and they see no other way out. They are suffering at the hands of a vicious invisible disease that’s as real as any cancer, heart disease, and all other ‘physical’ diseases. Many are going through a severe mental crisis and may not even realize what they are doing. So how can we talk about their goal ???
The definition would be far more accurate by saying,
“Suicide is the act or instance of taking one’s own life”. (Period)
Cure Brain Disease 