Originally Posted by lebelvedere

Hello, Alffe: Thanks for your thoughtful words. "Why?" "What if?" Well, thanks to this forum, it's becoming clear to me that PRECISELY what is needed for someone contemplating taking their own life, is to fill in the blanks as much as possible. That means leaving a written legacy. Of course, those accounts can never be complete; perhaps, that is the way it should be. "Wonder is the beginning of philosophy": Aristotle.

I read the full 4corners transcipt, about elderly, very aware people thinking about ending their lives. Something else is shaping up: I'm not sure that those people should be placed in the category of "suicide." In their case (and mine, I'm beginning to suspect), people who are elderly, in pain (or severe discomfort), facing a disease with no known cure and which is getting worse, are not in the same boat -- although we put them there -- as people who commit suicide for other reasons, e.g., economic hard times. Eventually, maybe this forum will make the distinction which presently is lacking. For now, our vocabulary lacks words and expressions to fill that gap. As more people live longer, have more physical and psychological problems, the terminology will emerge.