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shminux comments on Is suicide high-status? - Less Wrong Discussion

9 Post author: Stabilizer 12 February 2013 09:41AM

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Comment author: Viliam_Bur 12 February 2013 09:43:48PM 5 points [-]

If someone is already considering suicide, helping them contemplate the topic from many aspects will increase the probability of really doing it. I don't have a good estimate about how much the probability would increase, but my guess is that the expected damage is far greater than expected benefits of having this specific discussion.

For me this topic is kind of a taboo. In theory, there is nothing wrong about discussing suicide between psychologically stable people. The problem is, depressed people usually don't see themselves as unfit to participate in such a discussion; they are probably even more likely to start it or join it. I don't want to participate in possibly providing the last straw for someone.

The article itself is not the whole risk; the comments (assuming the article starts a large discussion) would be a greater risk. The more different perspectives, the higher chance that one of them would impress a fragile mind.

Comment author: shminux 12 February 2013 09:47:26PM *  2 points [-]

I see your point, though it seems overly cautious to me. Reasons for suicide are discussed online and in print all the time, by scientists, fiction writers, poets and just random folks. I doubt that a single post on a single forum is likely to make a difference either way, not nearly enough to make it a taboo.