A Cry

2
564

In this piece for Me, Myself and Disability, suicide attempt survivor Chris Coombs challenges the common misconception that people who attempt suicide always regret it and are grateful to be alive.

“If you think of someone’s suicide attempt as a jump from the top of a burning building, their world collapsing in flames around them, and they’re then caught and survive the fall – don’t be surprised if they’re not ‘grateful’ when they have to go back to the burning building that is their life. ‘It gets better’ is a lovely activist feelgood phrase, but I often think this is for the benefit of the messengers rather than the suicidal. If it doesn’t get better almost by default, then what are we doing? And what does it say about our society?  We often ask far too much of the suicidal, by saving them and then returning them to the exact same situation with a cheery promise of ‘it gets better’…”

Support MIA

MIA relies on the support of its readers to exist. Please consider a donation to help us provide news, essays, podcasts and continuing education courses that explore alternatives to the current paradigm of psychiatric care. Your tax-deductible donation will help build a community devoted to creating such change.

$
Select Payment Method
Personal Info

Credit Card Info
This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

Billing Details

Donation Total: $20 One Time