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Space Pirate Nithiel wrote on 2014-01-06 05:52
This is something I've never understood. I mean, if you have nothing to live for/a shitty enough life that death is a better option then yeah, I can understand suicide.
But I keep seeing in the news people who have everything committing suicide. I don't understand that. If your life is perfect why would you want to end it?
I saw in the newspaper some guy donated like, 100 million to charity then jumped off a building. Why would you jump off a building if you had 100 million dollars? It makes no sense.
On the more personal side, my mom recently got a call that her friend out in California shot his wife and then killed himself. No one knows why. He had the job he had always wanted, a wife, 4 kids, plenty of money, a nice house. Everything he wanted he had, so why would he do that?
Why do you think people who have everything they could ever want kill themselves?
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Proxied wrote on 2014-01-06 06:10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwqwAy85CgY
Discussions on this topic always remind me of that song, it sums it up and it's catchy as well!
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Loopulse wrote on 2014-01-06 06:17
1) The survival instinct is less active due to security and comfort.
2) Wealthier people tend to be less religious/spiritual, which trend to stear people away from suicide.
Maybe?
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Hanna wrote on 2014-01-06 06:53
Studies show people who make 50 million are no more happy than those who make 50 thousands.
Yes, if you're financially worried you're going to be stressed which causes depression but don't assume just because someone is wealthy has a perfect life.
"Does money but happiness? The answer isn't a simple yes or no. If you were to ask a homeless man he'd probably say yes, if you were to ask Bill Gates, he'd probably say no"
One of the biggest foes to happiness is stress, even though financial burdens tend to be a major stressor that doesn't mean they are less stressed than you or I.
There are a lot of reasons people commit suicide. Loss of a loved one, family issues, guilty, boredom, and mental illness
Quote from Loopulse;1185051:
1) The survival instinct is less active due to security and comfort.
2) Wealthier people tend to be less religious/spiritual, which trend to stear people away from suicide.
Maybe?
1) what?
2) even though athiest do tend to commit suicide more, I have no idea where you came up with rich people are less religious
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SlurpTASTY wrote on 2014-01-06 07:09
When people realize everything in their life is superficial they come to a point where they have to deal with it, suicide is just one of the (easier) options. You can have millions of dollars and a hot wife, but what's the point if they don't bring you happiness.
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kaozking wrote on 2014-01-06 08:05
A person can have all the money in the world and only attract people that want that person for what they have and who they are which is what they truly want. Another is that a person can get a lot of attention but it's all at what the person has done or their achievements. These types of things happen all the time and to me I think it's more of a loneliness feel than anything.
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Syliara wrote on 2014-01-06 08:12
Sometimes money cant buy what you really want and you realize this....
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Cynic wrote on 2014-01-06 09:24
The only type of happiness that money cannot buy is companionship. And no, I'm not talking about prostitutes/escorts/whatever - I mean pure, mutual companionship.
It could be anything from a friend, to a lover, to a family member, to someone that is dead, and so on. That is the one thing in life that no amount of money can, or will ever truly be able to buy. Which, in my experience, tends to be the motivator of rich people committing suicide.
Of course, it's not just the wealthy that lack said companionship - people of all social statuses can be lonely. But the fact that the wealthy can buy literally everything else (depending on how large their wallet is, anyways) except that one thing, is the biggest cause for suicide amongst that particular group of people.
Mental health issues is likely a close second.
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Froglord of DESTINY!!! wrote on 2014-01-06 10:51
Some people take a deep look at their lives, and see it like a mountain, or in some cases a small mount of dirt, and they realize that the only way left is to go down after all the effort to put in to getting where you were. They gain everything, but slowly, everything just crumbles to the point of no recovery, and it'll involve alot of suffering to boot.
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Kaeporo wrote on 2014-01-06 11:42
People are more likely to commit suicide when they're not physically, mentally, socially, or spiritually well. People seem to believe that having a lot of possessions grants you some sort of immunity to suicide. People wonder how someone could throw it all away when they have so much; despite knowing that others would do the same for less.
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Loopulse wrote on 2014-01-06 21:50
Quote from Hanna;1185058:
Studies show people who make 50 million are no more happy than those who make 50 thousands.
Yes, if you're financially worried you're going to be stressed which causes depression but don't assume just because someone is wealthy has a perfect life.
"Does money but happiness? The answer isn't a simple yes or no. If you were to ask a homeless man he'd probably say yes, if you were to ask Bill Gates, he'd probably say no"
One of the biggest foes to happiness is stress, even though financial burdens tend to be a major stressor that doesn't mean they are less stressed than you or I.
There are a lot of reasons people commit suicide. Loss of a loved one, family issues, guilty, boredom, and mental illness
1) what?
2) even though athiest do tend to commit suicide more, I have no idea where you came up with rich people are less religious
1) So pretty much on Maslow's Triangle, survival is on the bottom. Wealthy people aren't thinking about the bottom of the pyramid, rather they're thinking about what's on the top, so survival is no longer a concern. Comfort is.
[Image: http://femaleimagination.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/maslows_hierarchy_of_needs.png]
2) If someone is poor, they are more likely to turn to religion/spirituality than a wealthy person, because a wealthy person would have less need.
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Hanna wrote on 2014-01-06 22:46
Idk about Canada but here in the US most rich people are white Christian conservatives that shove god in everyone's faces
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mageisfun wrote on 2014-01-06 23:33
Quote from Hanna;1185187:
Idk about Canada but here in the US most rich people are white Christian conservatives that shove god in everyone's faces
I've seen this, though I wouldn't stereotype it that roughly. Though in my area, there have been plenty of people I've seen who shove god in everyone's faces, not necessarily rich white men, however. I don't know how many times I've been told I'm going to hell now. Which I never understood. Why would they expect me to be scared over something that I don't believe in?
As for the main topic, reasons that people do this vary. But the title of the topic is falsified. Obviously someone wouldn't kill themselves if they had everything, or at least everything they wanted, so it's not people who "have everything", but just people on the higher-end of the social spectrum (in terms of wealth). A person can have material goods, but that doesn't necessarily equate to happiness, which in our society, some people do have the mindset that wealth equates to happiness.
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drezzt wrote on 2014-01-07 02:10
Quote from Hanna;1185187:
Idk about Canada but here in the US most rich people are white Christian conservatives that shove god in everyone's faces
Dunno, about the God part, but I agree with everything else. If you add God, you've got conservative politicians.
@OP: Depends on what your definition of "everything" is, and whether it changes. Your "everything" may not be that rich man's "everything".
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Campylobacter jejuni wrote on 2014-01-08 14:57
Wonderful, that's the first Maslow's Pyramid I've seen that acknowledges the want/need for sex.