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> And the information revealed that people in crisis regularly turn their pets over to an animal shelter. I don't know why I assumed they were visiting the ani

> And the information revealed that people in crisis regularly turn their pets over to an animal shelter. I don't know why I assumed they were visiting the animals at the shelter to try to find comfort when I read the headline. The idea of planning to surrender your beloved pet before committing suicide is heartbreaking.

zappo2938 7y ago
Shows that there are a lot of good people who commit suicide. Maybe a society would benefit if it went the distance to protect them.
- gowld 7y ago
  ...which may be helped by switching away from the historical accusatory language of "commit". https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/why-mental-health-advocates-use-words-died-suicide-ncna880546 https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/why-mental-health-advo...
  - TurkishPoptart 7y ago
    Oh thank goodness, the "woke" patrol is here! Thanks for pushing the more politically-correct (as of about three years ago) euphemism for killing oneself. To kill oneself is to commit an act of violence or murder against oneself.
antibland 7y ago
More heartbreaking would be if the pets of these suicide owners die of starvation over a period of terrifying, lonely days. It's more heartwarming, if anything, that a person who wishes to end their suffering still holds empathy and respect for the living.
- algaeontoast 7y ago
  It's better than having your furry friend attempt to eat you after you commit suicide - the terrifying part is this is exceedingly common, even among smaller breeds.
  - paleotrope 7y ago
    Why "even among the smaller breeds."
    - rdl 7y ago
      A human can be...20x bigger than a small cat/dog, easily. It's not that usual for animals to eat something that much bigger than them. Much more common among carrion scavengers, but still kind of notable.
- killjoywashere 7y ago
  The pets won't die of starvation. They tend to eat their former owners. Cats especially seem to go for the face. Source: am pathologist.
  - kerkeslager 7y ago
    Well, your screen name was aptly chosen.
    - kerkeslager 7y ago
      I just wanted to comment that my post wasn't intended as a criticism, even though it might have come across that way. Your screen name is humorous and your post was informative!
  - klyrs 7y ago
    Can confirm, a partner of mine has a kitty with a lil bit of face-eating in her past.
  - JadeNB 7y ago
    > The pets won't die of starvation. They tend to eat their former owners. … and then die of starvation, presumably.
    - killjoywashere 7y ago
      nah, the stink brings the neighbors before that.
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  People who feel their lives are so terrible it isn't worth going on are usually not monsters. It's usually someone else in their lives that is a monster. They usually just have too many problems, not enough support and have spent too many years wrestling with it without resolution. If they were monsters, they would probably be planning someone else's death, not their own. It seems all too common that people around them are a big part of their unresolvable problems. People who turn to suicide are people who turn their pain inward, not outward. They just want their suffering to stop in a world that both has no answers and often isn't really trying to find them.
  - TruckingThrow 7y ago
    An uncle of mine blew his brains out a couple of years ago after a decade of struggling with mental health issues. I used to get so enraged at him for abandoning his family in that way. For some reason, your post really brought home to me that maybe what he was seeking was a way out, that he couldn't live with what the person he had become was putting his family through and that maybe he did it because to him that was better for them than sticking around. Helping me understand that event probably wasn't your intent, but thank you for sharing this, because I think you succeeded.
    - DoreenMichele 7y ago
      Our current world mostly doesn't have effective solutions for mental health issues. Given that fact, it's easy to feel like death is the only possible escape. I know a few things that can be helpful, though it's still a hard row to hoe. But saying I know anything useful often just gets me called crazy by internet strangers -- just more evidence that our own personal hells are all too often compounded by other people. I hope you can make your peace.
      - a3n 7y ago
        > Our current world mostly doesn't have effective solutions for mental health issues. Well, help is here! Cigna recently emailed me that they have an algorithm backed app, and a game, precisely to help keep my mental health tuned up.
- sk5t 7y ago
  I too have much compassion for animals, but idea of a human being preparing for taking his or her own life in turning over a pet is, in my heartfelt opinion, a much more poignant occasion.
gowld 7y ago
FWIW many people advocate preferring the phrase "died by suicide" (slightly awkwardly, but best they can do under the constraints) to reflect their belief (and perhaps yours) that suicide is a symptom of an illness, not a crime. https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/why-mental-health-advocates-use-words-died-suicide-ncna880546 https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/why-mental-health-advo...
toomanybeersies 7y ago
It's common for people intending to kill themselves to tie up loose ends and put their affairs in order. It's actually often listed as a warning signal of suicidal behaviour. Generally when people go they want to cause as little trouble for their loved ones as possible.
reubeniv 7y ago
> to try to find comfort That's what I jumped to as well, the reality really is heartbreaking
AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
Hmm, I had a different assumption: it was that animal shelter workers were more prone to suicidal tendencies. IIRC the data does suggest that veterinarians are, so it wouldn't have been unexpected to find a similar trend.

zappo2938 7y ago

Shows that there are a lot of good people who commit suicide. Maybe a society would benefit if it went the distance to protect them.

gowld 7y ago
...which may be helped by switching away from the historical accusatory language of "commit". https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/why-mental-health-advocates-use-words-died-suicide-ncna880546 https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/why-mental-health-advo...
- TurkishPoptart 7y ago
  Oh thank goodness, the "woke" patrol is here! Thanks for pushing the more politically-correct (as of about three years ago) euphemism for killing oneself. To kill oneself is to commit an act of violence or murder against oneself.

antibland 7y ago

More heartbreaking would be if the pets of these suicide owners die of starvation over a period of terrifying, lonely days. It's more heartwarming, if anything, that a person who wishes to end their suffering still holds empathy and respect for the living.

algaeontoast 7y ago
It's better than having your furry friend attempt to eat you after you commit suicide - the terrifying part is this is exceedingly common, even among smaller breeds.
- paleotrope 7y ago
  Why "even among the smaller breeds."
  - rdl 7y ago
    A human can be...20x bigger than a small cat/dog, easily. It's not that usual for animals to eat something that much bigger than them. Much more common among carrion scavengers, but still kind of notable.
killjoywashere 7y ago
The pets won't die of starvation. They tend to eat their former owners. Cats especially seem to go for the face. Source: am pathologist.
- kerkeslager 7y ago
  Well, your screen name was aptly chosen.
  - kerkeslager 7y ago
    I just wanted to comment that my post wasn't intended as a criticism, even though it might have come across that way. Your screen name is humorous and your post was informative!
- klyrs 7y ago
  Can confirm, a partner of mine has a kitty with a lil bit of face-eating in her past.
- JadeNB 7y ago
  > The pets won't die of starvation. They tend to eat their former owners. … and then die of starvation, presumably.
  - killjoywashere 7y ago
    nah, the stink brings the neighbors before that.
DoreenMichele 7y ago
People who feel their lives are so terrible it isn't worth going on are usually not monsters. It's usually someone else in their lives that is a monster. They usually just have too many problems, not enough support and have spent too many years wrestling with it without resolution. If they were monsters, they would probably be planning someone else's death, not their own. It seems all too common that people around them are a big part of their unresolvable problems. People who turn to suicide are people who turn their pain inward, not outward. They just want their suffering to stop in a world that both has no answers and often isn't really trying to find them.
- TruckingThrow 7y ago
  An uncle of mine blew his brains out a couple of years ago after a decade of struggling with mental health issues. I used to get so enraged at him for abandoning his family in that way. For some reason, your post really brought home to me that maybe what he was seeking was a way out, that he couldn't live with what the person he had become was putting his family through and that maybe he did it because to him that was better for them than sticking around. Helping me understand that event probably wasn't your intent, but thank you for sharing this, because I think you succeeded.
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    Our current world mostly doesn't have effective solutions for mental health issues. Given that fact, it's easy to feel like death is the only possible escape. I know a few things that can be helpful, though it's still a hard row to hoe. But saying I know anything useful often just gets me called crazy by internet strangers -- just more evidence that our own personal hells are all too often compounded by other people. I hope you can make your peace.
    - a3n 7y ago
      > Our current world mostly doesn't have effective solutions for mental health issues. Well, help is here! Cigna recently emailed me that they have an algorithm backed app, and a game, precisely to help keep my mental health tuned up.
sk5t 7y ago
I too have much compassion for animals, but idea of a human being preparing for taking his or her own life in turning over a pet is, in my heartfelt opinion, a much more poignant occasion.

gowld 7y ago

FWIW many people advocate preferring the phrase "died by suicide" (slightly awkwardly, but best they can do under the constraints) to reflect their belief (and perhaps yours) that suicide is a symptom of an illness, not a crime. https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/why-mental-health-advocates-use-words-died-suicide-ncna880546 https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/why-mental-health-advo...

toomanybeersies 7y ago

It's common for people intending to kill themselves to tie up loose ends and put their affairs in order. It's actually often listed as a warning signal of suicidal behaviour. Generally when people go they want to cause as little trouble for their loved ones as possible.

reubeniv 7y ago

> to try to find comfort That's what I jumped to as well, the reality really is heartbreaking

AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago

Hmm, I had a different assumption: it was that animal shelter workers were more prone to suicidal tendencies. IIRC the data does suggest that veterinarians are, so it wouldn't have been unexpected to find a similar trend.