You are equating two very different groups here. The guidelines around assisted suicide are extremely strict, this is not futurama "suicide booth".

Being overly holistic about life is disrespecting the right of these people to dignity. We are talking about people with a progressing disease that cannot be cured and that would be forced to spend several months in extreme suffering just because "suicide is bad".

In those terminal cases, that makes sense.

This woman was in her fifties, and took her life with governmental involvement because her housing wouldn't restrict the use of strong cleaners and prevent her neighbors from smoking cigarettes. This is a massively different thing, and some of the professionals involved in the assisted suicide took great issue with the circumstances here.

There is certainly a discussion that ought to be had around the circumstances of this (tragic) case.

The person I was replying to linked a story about someone jumping from a bridge.

Yes there is nuance in assisted suicide for psychiatric cases, but the statement "Survivors usually regret it" does not apply here.

I agree this isn't directly equivalent to someone jumping from a bridge.

You also said "The guidelines around assisted suicide are extremely strict", and the specifics of this case are contentious enough that we're having some serious discussion around it.

I think continued debate here is healthy in a compassionate society that wants assisted suicide policies that are appropriate and not overly applied. I can't say if that's the case here (I just don't know enough), but this comes very close to ringing some alarm bells.

> the statement "Survivors usually regret it" does not apply here.

You're not wrong but you may be right for the wrong reasons.

The concurrent medical situation where teens in the US/UK/CA have been prescribed puberty blockers and hormones with almost 0 oversight or evaluation makes me pretty unable to trust "strict medical guidelines" on irreversible procedures.

A difference that is worth considering here is that assisted suicide has requirements (meetings with clinicians, approvals, waiting periods, etc.) whereas non-medically-assisted suicide attempts do not have such requirements.

It's reasonable to assume that, at least in some cases, those that would regret their decision would not be approved for assisted suicide or would otherwise be dissuaded.

I hate to say "survivorship bias" in such a context, but I do think it applies. Those who are committed to the success of their attempt are likely more sure of their decision.

Or, at the very least, suicide does tend to reduce the severity and duration of symptoms.

These two things are different, most suicide is impulsive - this has a waiting period. So to the people who want to kill themselves because their partner broke up with them, etc, have some time to cool off - though this isnt really for those cases and they are still likely to jump and/or take their family down with them.

And is it always regret or maybe shame that is hard to tell the difference or say aloud? I dont regret my attempt 20+ years ago, but it made me feel so much worse about myself for a long time because I could not handle the shame of not even being able to do that one thing right.

I am now an advocate for a humane way to end one’s life, I was lucky in that I did not maim or disable myself like other people who fail in their attempt. This should be open to anyone, because there are people who are just done or just dont want to be here.

I still dont want to be here and I have done the self love/growth introspective work, have friends, hobbies and live comfortably by western standards. Each year has just strengthen my resolve to be able to end my life on my terms and in a humane way and in the country I love. The thought of failure a second time w/ possible disability/disfigurement is not something I want, or cant, add on to being here - as strange as it sounds, it would destroy me like the first failure almost did. I strongly hope to be able to do it in my own country but I have a timeline and, if I am still around at that time, I have not ruled out being a “suicide tourist” even though I would really prefer to go out in a world that wasn’t obsessed with controlling other peoples bodily autonomy

Throwing yourself off a bridge is not the same thing as going through the whole medical process behind assisted suicide.

100% of the suicide attempts who do not survive do not regret their attempts.

This suggests to me that we should focus on increasing the success rate if we wish to minimize regret.

I heard the authors of the study tried to contact the cohort that succeeded, but not a single person bothered responding!