Durkheim

A long dead, bearded sociologist (Emile Durkheim) once wrote on the subject of Suicide as a social phenomena (Suicide: A Study In Sociology, published in 1895). In this book, Durkheim theorizes that the act of suicide is definitely correlated to social integration. He believes suicide can be linked to the degree to which individuals form an attachment with others and/or society, and he believed it was related to the degree of guidance or regulation the individual experiences from others and/or society). 

Durkheim was a 19th Century Sociological theorist with peers who included other idealistic theorists such as Fredrik Engles, and Karl Marx, who saw suicide as a sociological anomaly, as opposed to a realistic and acceptable means of relieving insurmountable stress experienced by people who see little or no alternatives.

There has been much written about the subject by the living, especially by those who have been some “do-gooder” who feels it is their duty to ensure that the person continue to suffer the stresses of life rather than allow them to end their personal perception of purgatory. Few words have been written about those who have failed to find the courage to complete the task they set out to achieve, as they are branded as ‘depressed’ , ‘mentally unstable’, and other such labels as would make one a social pariah, unworthy of reasonable comment.

Those who think that suicide is a cowardly act have never attempted to kill themselves. They have no idea of the amount of courage it takes to slit one’s own wrists, to tie an effective noose, or to ensure sufficient quantities of pharmaceuticals are available to move forward with one’s own destiny. 
Moreover the intricate planning involved take more than a few minutes of indiscriminate thought. Location is everything – do you want children (especially your own) to find the body – if not where could one complete the final act without witnesses, without the chance of revival, and without the chance that a child might find your remains. For many this is of little consequence, for others with a social conscience, it may mean much. To be remembered as somebody who made the ultimate decision to take control over ones own life/death is one thing – to hang one’s self in a school yard is something else altogether.

In the movie M.A.S.H. (and subsequent TV series) the theme song is called “Suicide is Painless” – mocking the attempted suicide of the “Painless” dentist in the medical unit. Suicide may not be painless, but completed correctly, the pain is momentary at best, certainly less painful than suffering though years of mental abuse and anguish, making suicide a viable option for many – not a sociological phenomena, but a final necessity.