To my understanding and what I have experienced about suicide and my own research: I know that when I started looking at suicide, I wanted to know both sides of the issue. I wanted to know “how to” and how to prevent and where could I get this information. Of course, I looked to the internet.
I took the position of “I want to kill myself; now, how do I do that?” First I found the prevention sites. A lot of them. Then I started to find “how to” sites also. I found Suzanne Gonzales a big controversial story of a girl who went to college, was depressed and looked to the internet to find ways to kill herself. She found Alt-Suicide-Holiday. This was a site that had links galore to pro-suicide sites. She befriended someone on this site who helped her suicide. (Study Suzie’s story. You’ll get a good look at what someone does in that situation and how the pro-suicide sites work.)
(sidebar) Suzanne’s family is on a mission to make pro-suicide sites a crime. Check it out Suzie’s Law. Heading the mission is Mike Gonzales. He is her father. You can find him on facebook. He is very active. He might now something about someone who it studying it. http://suzyslaw.com/
(my theory) When someone decides to get on line and look for ways to kill himself/herself, (s)he is more than just having ideation. That person is preparing for his/her death. There are several things that I thing might have to happen before this actually takes place. In the case of the sites, we can basically eliminate the spur of the moment suicides, because this come down to planning and preparation.
(Buffers) I feel like those who reach out to pro-suicide sites are in the habit of reaching out. So they do reach out to parents, peers, co-workers, doctors, counselors and others. They probably have reached out so much that they think that they are becoming burdensome. Most times, the system breaks down. The system of doctors are not prepared for suicidal patients. They sometimes hold them in the psych ward (which makes things worse) then let them go. Sometimes they aren’t even taken seriously and/or blown off. At times, I would believe that they are national suicide prevention lines accessible and maybe called them, but it is just not enough.
(the preparation) The planning and preparation of one’s death is at times addictive. When people are stagnant and are unable to get around, usually because of depression, the only thing that looks good is death. The activity of actually preparing, making a check list and marking off each one as they go along is rewarding. For example: prepare will, check, say good bye, check, give away prized possessions, check. One success after another, short term goals to a long term end. During this time, the person might feel good about himself/herself, but can’t share it (the stigma). These sites provide the checklists and for give support toward a goal that the suicidal person has already made up and has decided to do.
The alternative: 1,000 ways to die on Spike TV.
A. Alex Cano's Blog 