The gun nut and depression

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Just this year, 2 teenagers commit suicide. One was around 18 or 19, shot himself while his parents WERE IN THE HOUSE. The 2nd shot himself too, and I think that he walked outside to do it. Both cases though, the parents found their dead son.

About 2 weeks ago, a guy from up the road killed himself. 44 years old, has had a battle with alcoholism for a while, called the police and told them he was committing suicide. They found him in a field not too far from his house, with funeral arrangements that he wanted for his own funeral scribbled down and left in his truck.
 
I've been depressed a few times. Thought about suicide a few times, even as a gun owner. I've gone about as far as sitting on the edge of my bed, holding my Sig, and started thinking "Eh. With my luck, it'll probably go through my skull, not kill me, kill the guy living upstairs, and I'll go to prison. How about I just see what tomorrow looks like, first... maybe it'll be better?"

It hasn't happened in a while, and I think I'm past it. Frankly, I don't think lack of a gun would stop me if I were determined to do it. I'd prefer a gun to most methods, because I suspect it's quicker, over before there's time to feel much pain. I'm too phobic about suffocation to off myself by hanging, drowning, or running a garden hose from my truck's tailpipe. But I could probably manage a pill OD, slit wrists, or if I'm feeling dramatic, cut my carotid artery.

Humans are actually pretty easy to kill. We've got all kinds of weak points.


Strangely enough, I'm comforted by the fact that if I ever really do want to commit suicide, I don't have to get all MacGyver about it. I think if I ever had terminal cancer (no chance or very, very low chance of survival), or if I were horribly maimed or something, it might be better than lingering. I've actually asked my friend, if I'm ever rendered quadriplegic, to rig a way for me to kill myself by using my teeth to pull a cord tied to a gun's trigger. Although I don't think we'd do that, since he'd probably still get in trouble. I guess I'd try to bite through my tongue and drown in my own blood. Wonder if that really works...

Mainly, what's comforting is that I can end my life on my own terms, if it ever comes to that. I don't have any religious qualms about suicide, and I don't think guns cause or really enable suicidal thoughts in my case.


I guess if a friend of mine were suicidal, I'd be more likely to try and talk him down than to try to take his guns. Especially since my gun-owning friends are paranoid and better shots than me. Pretty unlikely, though; they're all pretty stable. I'm the crazy one.
 
Its certainly a legit concern. Its also a gun grabber's tool unfortunately. I sure wouldn't want to go that way and not all attempts of suicide with a gun are successful and that's no way to keep living (as a vegetable). The point about euthanasia is a good one, liberals are full of contradictions (like abortion, the death penalty too).
 
I'd say, if someone is suicidal, or seriously considering it, you shouldn't let them have guns. They might find another way to commit suicide, but maybe not having access to guns would stop them. It's worth a try, the way I see it.
 
"I'd say, if someone is suicidal, or seriously considering it, you shouldn't let them have guns. They might find another way to commit suicide, but maybe not having access to guns would stop them. It's worth a try, the way I see it."

Yeah, but there are so many other ways to do it. Take 13 Tylenol, that'll be the last headache you'll ever have.

I think the pain factor comes into play for most cases. Guns are almost a no turning back method. Once the trigger is pulled, the damage is done. Slitting wrists and such can be fixed if caught in time. A .357 to the head won't heal as nicely.

I don't like pain.

I'm sure it hurts like a bastard....
 
For all of the guys who've said they thought about suicide and quickly dismissed it for this or that reason. It gets easier to think about each time. The Black Dog has a made a permanent home with me these days.
To the OP, if you still can, get some help. You don't think of these things off the top of your head. If you wait too long you may not be able to help yourself. Then you just wonder if today will be the day.


The Black Dog

There’s a black dog scratching at my door - demanding he come in
Although I try to ignore him - the black dog always wins.
Once inside he haunts my soul and dictates my thoughts and deeds
and like a fool I heed him and I pander to his greed.

Those who’ve never met him would doubt his presence here
They scoff his very mention and scold my tears and fears.
Little do they realise that my world is falling down
and they just dismiss my feelings and ignore that I’m around

Late at night the black dog lurks and hinders me from rest
depression overwhelms me and my heart sinks in my chest
the tears I cry are done alone - and pray - never in a crowd
for a man to cry its just not done - such weakness - not allowed

Get a grip the wise ones cry - grow up and act your age
Only you can fix it – just turn another page!
If was that simple then it would be done and dusted
but the black dog says pay no heed - no ones to be trusted.

So on it goes each dreary day - this world of pain and sorrow,
I just wish I could go to sleep and not awake tomorrow
but the black dogs bark will bring me back to endure another day
where my sun has lost its wondrous shine and my sky is dank and grey

I have a sinking feeling that the black dog has a plan
that will test the very fibre of this backward sliding man
he will of course suggest that I just end this stupid life
and he will then simply wander off and destroy another’s life

until then I must pay him heed and succumb to his demands
and resign myself to tears and fears and make no worthwhile plans
and when my time on earth is done and my wasted life’s gone cold
you’ll have no need to feed my dog - he has feasted on my soul.

Dallas Nyberg
 
Most people that are depressed don't know it. I suspect that half of the US population is depressed. Oh they have some of the symptoms and so forth. It takes someone they know who might recognize a problem. In which case, that friend should encourage them to seek some sort of help and leave the guns locked up.
 
And here's the stumper: it's one thing to talk about what you'd do. What if it's not happening to you, but to somebody you know? Anybody have to deal with a situation like that?
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Oddly enough I have, this male person was calling for an end to firearms to prevent the wasted lives ended by suicide. I pointed out that since suicide by firearm was by far a male statistic he was a sexist pig that believe the life of a male was more valuable than a female. A cry some of the more radical 'sisters' in the group took up and carried over to other examples of male atrocities.

It didn't change his mind but it sure as heck changed the subject.

Selena
 
We can all say what we think or feel,it really won't solve anything.My Father pulled the plug,the day before His 77th birthday;and NONE OF US SAW IT COMMING!!!!
The week before I took Him out for Pacific Halibut,and planned to go again before the season ended.
He got into it with Mom,and from the note ;had been thinking about it for a bit [note in two different dates] but we were shocked when it happened.
Dad was a Korean War Vet,a Medic,He saw lots of wounds and as long as I know could never stand a screem,which would remind Him of His own pvt Hell. So when He did the job it was correct,as was everything in His life.
There were issues He would'nt let go of,and I shout at Him when I'm at sea.I've never asked God for much in my life[I'd rather argue],but I've asked for help with the pain.
 
Obviously, we need to make depression illegal.

I hold life very dear. I think it's important to respect a firearm for what it is capable of being used for. At any point in the last year, I was about 1.5 seconds from being stone cold dead if I chose to be and I find that level of power and freedom quite awesome, humorous even. I don't want to die though, not for a very long time, which is why that gun is 1.5 seconds away in the first place.

Guns make killing much more convenient, however, they don't make it any less illegal, so there shouldn't be a problem.

Gun control in order to reduce suicide rates is laughable. I suspect it would be as effective as making suicide illegal. We could also make laziness illegal and see if that deters murderers from using guns.
 
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However their inteded purpose is to damage living flesh and render it non-living or at least unable to fight back.
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No, Doc, a firearm is designed to do one thing and one thing only, to expel a slug of dense metal out the end of a metal tube by the action of expanding gases. Where that slug goes is entirely up to the user.
As for suicides, I see ugly ones here inside the wire. We have no firearms of anykind inside prison grounds, no knives, but they find ways to do it, all the time. We do our damndest to stop it, but we can't be everywhere at once. Firearm unavailability does nothing to deter them from trying, and succeeding way too often.
Think looking at pictures is bad? Try cleaning up after a few.
 
I'm no expert.

Given the occurence of 16,000 suicides per year by self-inflicted gunshot wound, and given gun ownership somewhere in the magnitude of 60 million Americans, it is clear there is no statistical causal relationship between the two: One fact doesn't cause the other. The only fair statement is that each of those gunshot suicide victims had access to a gun at some particular time, but so did half of America during that same time.
The causal relationship in either direction is far too difficult to assert with certainty.
 
I'm also no expert on depression, but suicide and depression are two different things

There is a big difference between feeling depressed and suffering from depression. It is unfortunate that we use the same word to describe both conditions, because they are very very different and not to be confused. The former is a condition experienced by all healthy human beings, the latter is a mental illness. They are not the same.

Although suicide victims sometimes also suffer from depression, suicide is a separate problem and you don't have to be depressed to be suicidal. Many suicide victims act as the result of an irresistible compulsion. This may be very difficult for you and me to grasp, so maybe it helps to use an analogy to grasp the concept.
Think about the last time you vomited. Just before you lost it, the whole world faded from your mind. Your only thought is that you have to vomit and you have to do it now, and the compulsion to vomit drives you at the absolute exclusion of everything else in the universe. Similarly, suicide is often the result of crossed-up wires in the brain, wherein the victim's all-consuming compulsive thought is, "I have to kill myself, and I have to do it now!" There is little or no thoughtful reason, only irresistible compulsion that fills the victim's entire universe.
 
I think we have a right to die if we are sound of mind yet still want to die, in the least painful manner available.

Given the fact that even though medical malpractice kills off 120,000 people a year, doctors are NOT allowed to kill you painlessly even if you are sane and ask to be killed.

So, a bullet would probably be the best way out, however, if you are a gun owner seeking to kill yourself, and have made your final decision, please do not use your gun. Antis, family members, even people that enjoy firearms may turn against guns because of your actions.

Please use another method, such as consuming a dozen doses of Tylenol simultaneously.

Thank you for considering the welfare of the rest of gun owners.
 
I know someone who attempted suicide in a half-arsed way after pressure from his job and family just got to him. He was taking antidepressants but they were'nt working anymore.

He told me he tried to hang himself (despite having an "arsenal" of various guns) because he didn't want to be a Brady statistic.

Now, he's had counseling, new medications, and things got worked out with his family and job. He's doing well now, but he'll never get that FBI job he applied for.
 
There were issues He would'nt let go of,and I shout at Him when I'm at sea.I've never asked God for much in my life[I'd rather argue],but I've asked for help with the pain.
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Wow, touching stuff here.

Remember, God will answer your prayers about the pain. The timing will be just right, His timing, not yours.:)
 
I'm apparently an interesting case when it comes to depression.

I HAVE been depressed in response to very emotional incidents, but all of my most recent bouts for the past few years have been physiological. (I was already physically depressed when the election happened, and it certainly didn't HELP the situation)

The first one that really stands out, was when I was bouncing back and forth between different locations and different climates on business, and for school. Texas, Alaska, Utah, Oregon, Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan.

By the time it was all over, I did not experience anything that really troubled me, that one would normally equate with depression. No breakups, no relatives dying, nothing. And I LOVE to travel and experience different places. At the end, I could barely get out of bed, I didn't want to do anything, I would turn on the TV, and then stare off into space while letting it run. I wasn't down in the dumps and thinking life wasn't worth livinng. I was just DEPRESSED.

The other one was more recent. I've been taking classes at a university in Taiwan, in Chinese political history, political science, and Chinese literature. I was born in Taiwan to a Taiwanese mother and an American (Iowan) father.

Despite the usual grumbling about lack of real guns, airsoft is much more mainstream here, and it's much easier to arrange meets (small island) and I enjoy that a lot. I also really enjoy learning more about Chinese history in general, and political science from the view of a culture that's so many times older and more experienced than that of the USA puts a very different spin on things.

I did that for two years, essentially without a break. I had used to toss on the hydration pack I bought for airsoft (a BlackHawk Hydrastorm Force-5 in desert tan), filled with textbooks and its full 3-liter hydration pouch, sling a huge laptop case (a 10 pound Dell M1710, bought when it was the state of the art gaming laptop) over my shoulder, and walk two miles from my apartment, to the campus, then walk two miles back after class. I was exercising, but I was eating too. I wasn't out to lose weight, and my weight stayed pretty stable for a good long while.

At around August this year, I started taking the bus to campus more and more often. I worked out less and less until I essentially stopped completely (one time every two weeks, more or less). Between the beginning of August, and the beginning of November, I had lost 50(!) pounds.

I'd stopped going to airsoft meets, started playing more single player games than multiplayer at home. Was sleeping almost 11 hours a day, sometimes more.

I hadn't been doing anything I didn't WANT to do for those two years, but in the end I still got depressed. And then the election happened, which REALLY REALLY made things worse. I decided I needed a break from all this, and came back to the USA.
 
excuses, excuses

the brady bunch will use ANY EXCUSE to try to ban guns. look, i understand why they hate guns, but their hatred is misplaced. it was not the guns fault, it was the criminal. had this been 500 years ago, they would be pushing to ban bows and arrows! :banghead: people, for some reason. like to kill people. i really dont get it. but it has been going on way before bow and arrows and guns came along. the truth of the matter is Jim Brady was in the political arena. he was not the intended target. but it did ruin his life, and affect his family. :mad: so what, now every gun in the world is bad? what about the police, or our soldiers? as far as guns and depression goes, when i first became disabled, suicide was on my mind in a big way. :uhoh: it took almost 2 years of counseling and drugs to get me through the adjustment period. i even went as far as stringing up a rope in the garage. hmmmm, so maybe we should ban ropes!:fire: the bottom line is this. you CAN NOT STOP PEOPLE FROM KILLING, wether they use a gun, a rope, piano wire, bow and arrow, frying pan, baseball bats, poison, etc.etc.etc. .:evil:
 
If some one states they are going to kill themself, we were taught to ask if they had a plan, and treatment was initiated immediatly. there is a difference between those using the S word for attention and those that are serious about doing it, they seldom talk about it.
Either way these people are in pain. They need to be identified and need support, meds, and treatment.
Mental health funding is a low priority on all levels of goverment. Add in the social stigma and the results are what we see today.
It is a caring about people issue, not a gun issue. Meds and therapy help but love cures, not only the love of others , but self love. the best we all can do is identify and encourage those we suspect to get help. To do less would be negligent
 
Phil DeGraves said:
I go shooting. That always makes me feel better.
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Took the words right out of my mouth.

I also ogle the wares at my local gun shop. Even if I don't buy anything, I feel better. Simply for getting out of the house.
 
USN personnel from any era should not be allowed within 100 yards of any firearm since they pose a serious threat to themseves and all
in the vicinity. Shipboard heavy weapons, fine, but under no circumstances any type of handheld
weapons. Get chills thinking of it.
 
Repulsive.

Anything I have ever read and heard from someone who shot themself (from some people who have had to clean up and identify the body), it is repulsive for me to even think about doing that. Like others stated, I certainly would not want to put anyone I know through that.
 
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