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I will repeat a warning: some Web sites may be harmful. For
example, one Web Site quotes many heart-wrenching comments
written by people approaching or in the midst of suicide; it also
provides a questionnaire for assessing the lethality of one’s current
suicide tendencies; it is an emotionally touching, possibly helpful,
thought-provoking Site by a very experienced psychologist, Fred
Cutter, but I decided to not cite it. In another Web Site, a nurse clearly
intends to discourage self-injury by describing unintended and horribly
failed suicide attempts resulting in brain damage, life-long disability,
etc. Other sites with less helpful intentions describe self-inflicted death
in gruesome detail, as in the Japanese military during WWII. Many
non-professional Web Sites, forums, lists, and chat groups are, of
course, very supportive and helpful but a few occasionally encourage
suicide very inappropriately. On the whole, support groups are a great
benefit and quite safe but there are misguided posters and mishaps,
so be careful. It is not known how the people in the depths of despair
respond to highly emotional and/or unhelpful literature or Web Sites.
Some relatives have believed that certain sites have caused serious
consequences and they have sued.
There are memorial sites: Web Sites where young people, loved
ones, and others are mourned by their mothers, fathers, spouses,
siblings, and others. Schools have constructed “grieving gardens” for
students who have died, including plaques to ones who have killed
themselves. However, the wisdom of some of these memorials and
sensationalized reports in the media are questioned. See The Copycat
Effect by Loren Coleman (2004). And there are other topics I haven’t
covered, such as physician assisted suicides (Rosenfeld, 2004). See
books below.
Books for anyone in the midst of choosing to live or die:
Ellis, T. E. & Newman, C. F. (1996). Choosing to live: How to
defeat suicide through Cognitive Therapy. New Harbinger Publications.
Books for the people who survive a loved one’s suicide
(“Survivors”)
Living though a child's or a loved one's suicide is a devastating
experience. Sue Chance (1992), a psychiatrist, describes how her
family survived her son's suicide. Another mother (Carlson, 1995) tells
how she coped and offers help to others. Grollman and Malikow (1999)
offer help in understanding suicide—how the victim might have felt
and why it happens—and in coping with the grieving process. Colt
(1991) and Marcus (1995) cover all aspects of suicide--its prevention
and coping with it. Wrobleski (1994) has written a highly
recommended guide for the survivor.
