What's wrong with western culture?

[Ecthy]

I'm not German. I'm not even human.

[Shi Huangdi]

As for my church, we teach that anyone considering suicide needs help and treatment for depression, not condemnation.

We in the Catholic Church would reccomend help too, after all if they are just considering it they haven't comitted a sin yet.

I suppose Catholicism could have something to do with the suicide rate. For one thing Catholicism tend to emphasize the community more and be less individualistic then Protestantism. Traditionally, the reasoning went that since suicide is a mortal sin and afterwards, you would go to hell. Hence traditionally people who comitted sucide were not buried on Church ground even.

Currently, with our greater understanding of psychology, we can see that someone who comitts suicide often is under severe psychological pressure which can limit one's responsibility for their actions. The Cathecism states: "Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.". Thus, a person who has comitted suicide might not have the full knowledge and deliberate consent to the action that mortal sin requires, hence we now all suicides to be given a Catholic burial and we hope for the best. However, in Catholic communities some of the stigma from older times might remain thus discouraging sucide.

I am suprised however some of you say it is Catholicism that considers suicide a sin. Given the Fifth Commandment any Protestant Church which goes by the bible should also.

[LDiCesare]

The best explanation about suicide rates I heard had to do with how people interacted with their "neighbours", the relative individualism: With either too high or too low interactions, you get higher suicide rates.
Low individualism: (Japan, China...). These countries provide a lot of stress on people by telling them forcefully how they should live. If you don't want to live that way, then you want to die: You can't fit in the system, there is no room for you. Suicide.
High individualism: (Western world, particularly former Soviet countries). You are not told how to live, or, rather, noone will help you or tell you what to do. If you can't find out, you may feel abandoned by society. This is particularly true in ex-communist countries, where society used to do a lot for the people (providing them jobs, job safety, and generally preventing them from thinking about what they should do with their life...). If you feel that noone in the society cares about you, you feel out of touch with everyone, see all other people who manage their own lives but you can't, so you'd rather die.

Anyone can be subject to suicide because of either of these extremes: being overborn by other people and their rules, or feeling abandoned. I don't say there aren't other reasons. Suicide is not something you can really think of in statistics if you've known people who either commited or tried to suicide, but I think the two patterns apply. Note that catholicism, being a religion that forces a lot of things upon people, can help those who feel abandoned, but on the contrary can cause people who rebel against bounds to suicide themselves, because they will feel stifled by that religion on top of other things.

[Whaleboy]

People often feel trapped in this closed, systemised, pragmatic world. They see it is an abstract prison, and thus depression sets in, and to them, suicide seems a way out, a reasonable conclusion to a distorted chain of reasoning.

A lot of "psuedo-Lennons" feel somewhat powerless in this world, and though a few find a voice, many who desire to speak find themselves muted and impotent.

[Zero]

We need to legalize prostitution. Once these folks get laid, everything will be alright.

[Whaleboy]

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Zero
We need to legalize prostitution. Once these folks get laid, everything will be alright.

Prostitutes have the highest suicide rate of all professions.

[Dis]

Are those legal or illegal prostitutes?

[mindseye]

I think it is mainly the lack of love in western society. It poor countries people are often dependent on their family for survival and this can lead to very stong relationships, and a feeling of being needed.

I think there is something to this. Social ties are stronger here in China. My relationships with my best Chinese friends are much more intense than with my western friends.

[Ecthy]

btw, some people of that sort refuse prostitutes. they're sad enough they can't get it done the normal way.