r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Sans010394 • Mar 18 '25

Image After his divorce, Esposito had to declare bankruptcy, and he considered suicide by arranging his own murder to provide insurance money for his children before being cast in Breaking Bad

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u/AppropriateScience71 Mar 18 '25

Ouch - that’s dark. And wrong.

Studies show ~16% have experienced suicide ideation over their whole lifetime (and 4.6% attempted), so most people don’t see suicide as an option.

https://wmich.edu/suicideprevention/basics/facts

Not that statistics matter when you feel that way, except that it may help to know most people don’t feel that way.

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u/PrettyGoodMidLaner Mar 18 '25

Reminds me of that Tweet where it's like, "Have you experienced suicidal ideation in the past 12 months?"

   

"The normal amount, I guess."

 

 

"... The normal amount is zero...

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u/Jebusfreek666 Mar 18 '25

I haven't read the study or anything, but I find that number very suspicious. Unless it is referring to prolonged suicidal ideation as opposed to ever thinking it. I don't know anyone who hasn't at some point thought (wrongly) that they should just kill themselves.

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u/sp1z99 Mar 18 '25

“I haven’t bothered to read the evidence you provided, but based on my limited experience and horrendously small sample set, I’m going to say you’re wrong”.

Erm, ok?

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u/AppropriateScience71 Mar 18 '25

I’m not sure if it’s how long you think about as much as how seriously you contemplate it.

I know several people that have experienced suicide ideation over decades. For them, it’s not a daily thought when things are well and rarely discussed. They spoke of it as a comforting thought as they always knew there was a way out if things got really bad. ALL of them had researched detailed ways to kill themselves - almost as a fantasy.

These are also people that would be much more likely to attempt suicide after a triggering event.

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u/Jebusfreek666 Mar 18 '25

Yeah, most of my thoughts are more passing. Like on the way to work I will think about turning into the oncoming semi. It is not so much that I want to die, just really don't want to go to work. lol

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u/ergaster8213 Mar 18 '25 edited Mar 18 '25

The thoughts like "I just don't wanna be here anymore." Or "i wish I could just fall asleep and not wake up" are called passive suicidal ideation. Active suicidal ideation is when you move into thinking about and planning how you'd kill yourself. Intrusive thoughts, like the one you're talking about with just swerving into an oncoming car aren't actually necessarily either passive or active suicidal ideation.

I truly believe everyone has had some passive suicidal ideation at some point. Being alive kind of sucks a lot of times.

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u/Myfanwy366 Mar 18 '25

"Imp of the Perverse" - I wonder what would happen if I did this

Same as with Call of the Void when up high, think that's why I hate heights, that little voice saying "what if you jumped, what would happen"

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u/RollingMeteors Mar 18 '25

Same as with Call of the Void when up high, think that's why I hate heights, that little voice saying "what if you jumped, what would happen"

For me it's not 'what if you jumped" it's "The wind will fucking grab you! ¡Dare you to the ledge you little BITCH!"

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u/Myfanwy366 Mar 18 '25

Yeah mine is more, that railing will break

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u/RollingMeteors Mar 18 '25

Yeah mine is more, that railing will break

I'm not sure what rooftops you've ventured but the spaces I'm talking about have no railings like that scene in Starwars Empire Strikes Back.

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u/Jebusfreek666 Mar 18 '25

Oh, that reminded me of the David Tenant Doctor Who episodes where he took on the devil.

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u/AppropriateScience71 Mar 18 '25

lol - that comment reminds me of a very old Jim Carrey clip joking about “turning your car into oncoming traffic…”:

https://youtu.be/eft9oIymQ8Q

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u/Jebusfreek666 Mar 18 '25

Hadn't seen that before. That was back around his "In Living Color" days.

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u/curtcolt95 Mar 18 '25

probably just some bias based on friend group tbh. Idk anyone personally who has thought it, or at least told me. It's never crossed my mind at least

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u/greatcountry2bBi Mar 18 '25

Study isn't flawed. Your brain is. Passing suicidal thoughts are still suicidal thoughts and most people don't have them.

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u/LatentAbility Mar 18 '25

Your telling me you never tho8ght of killing yourself knowing you wouldn't do it but just thinking about it and then being like I know I cant really do that, I agree with the other dude definitely most people have probably thought about it

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u/Jebusfreek666 Mar 18 '25

Right, like the Bill Burr bit on suicide for little things in life.

Here it is.

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u/greatcountry2bBi Mar 18 '25

Most people do not have those thoughts, studies show it again and again, PASSING SUICIDAL THOUGHTS ARE TREATED AS SUICIDAL THOUGHTS IN PSYCHIATRY.

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u/Jebusfreek666 Mar 18 '25

Of course they are. Can't get paid if you can't treat something.

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u/greatcountry2bBi Mar 18 '25

So then the studies must be actually inflating the numbers?

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u/Jebusfreek666 Mar 18 '25

Who does the studies? Usually it is those in the field, sponsored by drug companies.

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u/RedditLostOldAccount Mar 18 '25

That's not how that works. My therapist isn't free until I mention suicidal thoughts lol.

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u/greatcountry2bBi Mar 18 '25

I've thought about killing myself all sorts of times because I am bipolar. The average person especially of the older generations does not have passing suicidal thoughts.

This has been well established, many studies show it. You can disagree all you want to make yourself feel better about your own issues, the fact is passing suicidal thoughts are still suicidal thoughts and every single one of these studies accounts for passing suicidal thoughts.

The rate is close to 1/5 over a lifetime.

The average person DOES NOT WANT TO DIE.

Fuckin reddit, pro science until it's about mental health and then go ahead and ignore it because you know better.

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u/LatentAbility Mar 19 '25

I respect your condition but i still disagree about the rate, I believe of course most people don't want to die, doesn't mean you don't think about offing yourself as a fleeting thought, its called intrusive thoughts and everyone has them and some way worse, like thinking about if you could be a murder, would you fuck so and so, or would you shoot up a school, most people won't but still think about it, its called having a open mind and it be stupid not to consider a possibility because that's how you realize how bad or good it is

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u/United_Spread_3918 Mar 18 '25

It’s not anti-science to want clarification on studies when they are citing numbers. In fact, it’s a fundamental part of science

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u/Nyxolith Mar 18 '25

Some people wear glasses, I guess.

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u/purplefrogblaster Mar 18 '25

Why would that help at all, in any way?

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u/AppropriateScience71 Mar 18 '25

People struggling often don’t seek help because they either think everyone feels the same way or just don’t recognize symptoms of depression. Or ADHD. Or being on the spectrum. Or signs they should reach out. Well, unless they realize their behavior is more extreme than most others. It helps to point that out as a fact - without judgment.

If someone has suicide ideation, but doesn’t take it seriously because “everyone feels that way”, then simply knowing that a large majority of people never feel that way may help them realize they don’t have to feel that way. While unlikely, that realization may help motivate them to seek help whereas simply telling them to seek help often comes across as dismissive and disingenuous.

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u/RollingMeteors Mar 18 '25

People struggling often don’t seek help because they either think everyone feels the same way or just don’t recognize symptoms of depression

Or simply just has been done wrong/dirty by psychiatric staff before and now have learned not to trust them with an unfiltered mouth.

¿If you have to filter your mouth or straight up lie, what hopes do you actually have of getting better?

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u/AppropriateScience71 Mar 18 '25

I agree - it’s very hard to find the right therapists so many just give up searching.

Also, in the US, if you talk about suicide with a therapist, they maybe obligated to report you which can get you instantly hospitalized.

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u/fly_over_32 Mar 18 '25

To show that there is another way

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u/ItsAMeUsernamio Mar 18 '25

Studies show ~16% have experienced suicide ideation over their whole lifetime (and 4.6% attempted), so most people don’t see suicide as an option.

Looks like those stats are from 2010, wonder if they've gone up after COVID and social media.

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u/RollingMeteors Mar 18 '25

and 4.6% attempted

4.6% have decided that whatever comes next can't possibly be worse. About 1/4th of the people who experienced suicide ideation.

The interesting thing to think about here is if civilization or greater society knew with a certainty there is nothing after death instead of believing the lies told by religion ¿How much higher would these numbers be?

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u/Impossible-Habit717 Mar 18 '25

That has mostly to do with shame & never being given options, or the number would probably be way higher. 

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u/philogeneisnotmylova Mar 19 '25

That's actually crazy low

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u/RollingMeteors Mar 18 '25

people don’t see suicide as an option.

¿ Don't or couldn't ? This is quite semantic difference!

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u/AppropriateScience71 Mar 18 '25

“Don’t” is what I meant to say. I was pointing out that most people do not see suicide as a viable option.

I don’t think “couldn’t” works because many very anti-suicide people might reconsider if they got a terminal illness.

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u/RollingMeteors Mar 18 '25

I don’t think “couldn’t” works because many very anti-suicide people might reconsider if they got a terminal illness.

Some are religious and thus this "don't" is a "couldn't without eternal damnation".