question

[Cheerful Friend]

have you ever thought that you are a reason why some people are still alive?

well for me i think that everyone have saved another person's life in both ways (direct and indirect)

what do you think?

 

[The dark knight]

I've convinced a guy NOT to kill himself.

 

[Angelo Credo]

I've never really thought we had a reason for being here, as far as I'm concerned, we're here to just live our lives, and if things like that come up, then we deal with them.

Then again, I've never really been the sort of person to think about life's deeper meaning, I've never actually considered it.

 

[Black Angel]

I exist for the sake of another. That is all I will say.

 

[Stylish Nereezy]

Yes...idk my friends tell me i'm like a good luck charm b/c whenever i'm there bad stuff never happens but when i'm not it does....i thought about this yesterday whenever me and 2 other friends were in a car accident and nobody was hurt

 

[King Avallach]

I think that a lot of people are both saved and killed indirectly, fortunately saves come out a bit on top due to all the effort ppl put in to try and preserve human life all around the world. To my little part I volunteer at Oxfam and am proud of it.

 

[Angel]

I've been accused of being responsible for someone's death, but I don't agree. You are not responsible for the actions and reactions of others, only your own actions and reactions.

Sure, you can have influence on some actions - i.e. force someone to do something against their will, but their reaction is entirely within their control, not yours.

If you can influence someone enough to talk them out of a suicide bid or whatever, then that's no bad thing. But you are not the reason they are still alive. Nor if your attempts fail and they die is that down to you either.

 

[Koemi]

I had similar experience like Angel - though the one that accused me was myself. Now I am out of it, and my conclusion: we - all beings, humans and animals - exist for one another. Everyday we influence people we meet - can be a sentence you said, can be an act you did, or a gesture; and these influence accumulates and make us and others to what we are - even if we moved on (this world or another).

 

[Steve]

I've had a member of my family accuse me of being the reason why she was contemplating killing herself before. Sadly my family isn't the most... balanced of families. I've been accused of all sorts to be honest.

 

[Angel]

She needs sectioning anyway...

I got accused of killing a pet. It was true though. Stood on the hamster.

 

[GIIIIIIIIRLZ :D]

^Oh gosh, that poor little rodent.

Well I did save a drunken friend's life once. ¦D Well...kinda. She was running down the road away from everyone, and a car was driving down her direction (it was opposite her). I, with my super sprinting skills, raced after her and pulled her to the side.

...For the record the car was miles away, but still. <_< It's not that big of a deal as I'm probably making it out to be, but I don't quite like the idea of there being a possible other outcome, had no one interfered. This is also one of the main reasons why I don't drink.

 

[Janny]

My mom saved my dad from choking to death when he got drunk, so if she hadn't done that I wouldn't be alive today. (Back then they were just friends, so looks like that near-death situation brought then together :lol: )

I like to think that I'm alive just to keep a balance in this world, because my dad and relieves talk a hell lot (much more than you can possibly imagine!) and argue all day, but I talk very little and try to calm them down. If I had been like them, I guess the world would self-destructed...

 

[Black Angel]

^All stuff that could be in the Counseling group thread, its in general discussion.

Just thought I would advertise the new feature to the noobs.

 

[Angelo Credo]

I've been accused of being responsible for someone's death, but I don't agree. You are not responsible for the actions and reactions of others, only your own actions and reactions.

Sure, you can have influence on some actions - i.e. force someone to do something against their will, but their reaction is entirely within their control, not yours.

If you can influence someone enough to talk them out of a suicide bid or whatever, then that's no bad thing. But you are not the reason they are still alive. Nor if your attempts fail and they die is that down to you either.

I don't really believe it possible to force anyone to do anything, everyone has free will, they ALWAYS have a choice whether to do something or not, I mean, even if something terrible would happen if someone didn't do something specific, they still have the free will to choose not to do it.

Yes, you can influence people in certain ways, as you've stated, you can maybe help someone to think that their life is worth living or something like that, but I'm not too sure about saying "If you talk someone out of a suicide big, you aren't the reason they're still alive."

Because in a sense, you are, if you hadn't been there to talk the person out of killing themselves, chances are, that person would have gone through with it, so to me, talking them out of it makes it seem pretty reasonable that you're the reason why a person is still alive.

I'm not sure if this is making much sense, but I suppose to summarise...

You are responsible for only your own actions, no one elses, no matter the circumstance, everyone has free will, therefore you can not FORCE them to do anything, but in that sense, you can still be the reason why someone remains alive say, if you talked them out of suicide.

Like I said before, I've never really thought there was a greater meaning to life, I think we just live it and let our actions influence things for better or worse, but for many people, with their free will, they choose to save people, and that's their purpose.

I really think that the purpose or greater meaning of life can't be defined, simply because life is what you make it, it's what YOU want it to be.

 

[Angel]

You can certainly be PART of the reason someone is still living but I do not believe you are the SOLE reason - probably should have made that distinction, but I'm dippy, so there ya go...

Because when you are talking someone out of suicide, you don't tend to sit there and say "live because of me" - you bring up a variety of reasons why the person should reconsider and a culmination of those things plus the catalyst (i.e. you) can be what encourages them to think otherwise. Unfortunately, the super-serious about suicide won't even let on that they're going to do it; they'll just get on and end their life. It's those who WANT a reason to not die - those who have the faintest glimmer of hope left, however smothered by circumstances, who want someone somewhere to show they give a crap and convince them of why they should hang on.

Just my experience/understanding - can't speak for every suicide case, obviously.