{"id":1044,"date":"2016-09-13T00:18:22","date_gmt":"2016-09-13T00:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/?p=1044"},"modified":"2021-03-14T06:58:39","modified_gmt":"2021-03-14T06:58:39","slug":"the-danger-of-glamorizing-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/2016\/09\/13\/the-danger-of-glamorizing-suicide\/","title":{"rendered":"The Danger of Glamorizing Suicide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you ever think of suicide as being romantic or glamorous? In September, as we observe Suicide Prevention Awareness Month it\u2019s important to remember that young adults with impressionable minds might be persuaded to.\u00a0That\u2019s why it\u2019s crucial to talk about suicide, because \u201cone conversation can change a life.\u201d This statement is from www.nami.org<\/a>, the National Alliance on Mental Illness website, which also reports that \u201csuicide is the third leading cause of death among young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet Hollywood has sometimes glamorized suicide. A prime example is the recent movie, \u201cMe Before You.\u201d Billed as a drama\/romance starring Emilia Clarke \u201cLou\u201d and Sam Claflin,\u201dWill\u201d the film was released on DVD on August 30, 2016.\u00a0It\u2019s frightening to think of all the teenagers who will be viewing this movie and ingesting the deadly message that if you are disabled, it\u2019s all right to put an end to your existence. (No apology for not offering a spoiler alert.)\u00a0www.imbd.com<\/a> describes the movie as, \u201cA girl in a small town [who] forms an unlikely bond with a recently-paralyzed man she’s taking care of.\u201d www.amazon.com<\/a> says, \u201cWill’s cynical outlook starts to change when Louisa shows him that life is worth living\u2026their lives and hearts change in ways neither one could have imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n

I sure couldn\u2019t have imagined that \u201cWill\u201d would decide to end his life in a physician assisted suicide clinic with his adoring love interest \u201cLou\u201d at his side. This scene\u2019s gushing cinematic drama is better suited to a royal event than the intentional death of a vibrant young man.\u00a0\"money\"Supposedly, the happy ending is that \u201cWill\u201d leaves \u201cLou\u201d all kinds of money, so she can have a wonderful life after he\u2019s gone. This too is a fallacy, because those of us who have lost a loved one to suicide will tell you that no amount of money in the world is worth their loss.<\/p>\n

Another example of suicide being idealized is that of 29-year-old Brittany Maynard who was suffering with terminal brain cancer. She took her life on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. This young woman\u2019s tragic story went viral through a YouTube video when Brittany described her plan to end her life with lethal drugs administered through Oregon\u2019s Death by Dignity Law. She even moved from California to Oregon to fulfill her final wish.<\/p>\n

Some applauded Maynard as a courageous heroine for stepping into the national spotlight while working with the group Compassion and Choices to herald the cause of what proponents call the, \u201cRight to die with dignity.\u201d\u00a0My heart breaks for Maynard\u2019s family and for the pain and suffering she endured. Her gesture of ending her physical suffering from this incurable illness might appear rational and even altruistic. It seems she spared her family the horrible progression that losing someone to a terminal disease can entail.<\/p>\n

\"PillLike many folks, I have held the hand of a loved one dying of cancer and witnessed this end of life suffering firsthand. I am thankful for any medication that will alleviate their pain, but not death, because those last days can be precious gifts where miracles of reconciliation and preparation abound for them.\u00a0\u00a0An essential point of this debate concerns the legacy suicide leaves behind. Especially, for the young and impressionable who will face life crises which can seem hopeless. Suicide appears to be an option, a way out of these difficulties that this earthy existence is guaranteed to present.\u00a0Besides, statistics indicate that if an individual within a family takes their life, the probability that someone else within that family unit will die by suicide increases. According to www.nami.org<\/a>, \u201cFamily history of suicide\u201d is an important risk factor regarding suicide or suicidal behavior among youth.<\/p>\n

As someone who almost died from an overdose resulting from debilitating depression as a young woman, I do not view Brittany or \u201cWill\u2019s\u201d tragic choice as either brave or romantic, but as deeply misguided. After all, millions of folks live with daunting challenges each day. One in five American adults annually battle a mental health issue, returning military personnel fight post-traumatic stress disorder, countless individuals suffer with incapacitating physical illnesses, aging limitations, disabilities, and the list goes on.\u00a0It was once considered noble and courageous to allow the end of life to come in its natural timing, because each day of our existence is vitally meaningful. Many people of faith still believe that it is only in the Creator\u2019s way and His time that we should breathe our final breath \u2013 that truly is dying with dignity.<\/p>\n

\"SuicideIf you are someone you love is suicidal, please rethink this tragic decision by getting professional help. Call the National Suicide Prevention hotline or a local mental health center in your community. The life you save may be your own.<\/p>\n

Christina Ryan Claypool is a freelance journalist and inspirational speaker. Contact her through her website at <\/em>www.christinaryanclaypool.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you ever think of suicide as being romantic or glamorous? In September, as we observe Suicide Prevention Awareness Month it\u2019s important to remember that young adults with impressionable minds might be persuaded to.\u00a0That\u2019s why it\u2019s crucial to talk about … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[330],"tags":[781,81,783,784,780,176,786,785,478,782,473,479,599],"class_list":["post-1044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recovery-and-addiction-on-the-road-less-traveled","tag-brittany-maynard","tag-death","tag-dying-with-dignity","tag-hollywood","tag-me-before-you","tag-movie","tag-nami-org","tag-national-alliance-on-mental-illness","tag-national-suicide-prevention-hotline","tag-pro-life","tag-suicide","tag-suicide-prevention-month","tag-terminal-illness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1044"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1663,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044\/revisions\/1663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}