I don't know if thisa is the only time it has ahppened in a chat room here but very shocking

[zippitippitoes]

..a man committed suicide with a live webcam

not on a suicide site

apparently it is a growing phenomenon

story

is it just a sign of the times or is it an extension of the fame for 15 minutes which the ointernet allows

does the internet encourage people to think of suicide more? is the outlet for depression threads on mn good or bad too?

hmmm am with you Zippi, in my tiome I have seen people on here who have been helped hugely, I have also seen people who I think have actually found it quite destructive.
When I was depressed I was almost indulgent in my depression would purposefully listen to stuff that f*cked with my head, and was almost drawn to it, i think chatrooms can be similar. I guess its really down to the individual, i would never want to see peoples lifelines cut but am also aware that the very lifelines that people can seek can exascerbate (sp?) the situation.

self indulgence and also maintenance of high dependancy

do support boards feed back into depression especially if you do get a lot of input from a core of people?

There was a friend I lost contact with, when I looked her up I found out she'd died. I then found threads she'd written on in a Yahoo support group for those with mental illness. While it helped me to understand what had happened, reading her story written while it happened, I did notice that sometimes the support veered towards cheerleading suicide. There did seem to be a sort of grim happiness when it was posted that one of the members had succeeded.

that is very sad

it is sometimes easier to post than to deal with problems especially mental health problems

Even if you thought someone was faking, why would you cheer them on? Where do these weirdos come from?

I saw this and I think people cheered him on because they thought he was taking the piss so were taking the piss back.

I feel sorry for the guy though - I can understadn why being alone drove him to that, it is an awful state of affairs.

haven't read thread but re: 'growing phenomenon'. that just what newspapers say when they want to spin a news story and a feature/comment piece as well. they could only come up with one other example in 2003.

I think th egrowing phenomenon of threatening suicide and doing this online does exist

even on a forum like mn it has happened

the people wo get involved as int his case don't have skills to adequately respond

that is the problem

apparently though despite data protection the police can get an order placed to have the posters/chatters details released but the onus is on a forum member to notify them

i read about this yesterday and was so shocked. How could people lead him on and tell him to get on with it?

Was it on MN that someone tried to do this and fellow MN'ers worked out where she lived and got an ambulance to her?

I personally have a dim view of suicide (due the effect of a suicide on me when I was a child) but how anyone could be so cruel as to encourage someone to do it just sickens me.

A friend of mine recently lost an ex to suicide; he'd been threatening it for just about most of his life. When they were still together/having troubles he would disappear then text her saying he was going to kill himself, she'd (of course) end up running all around town searching for him. She left him (for various reasons) and he still used to threated her with it ie "if you don't come back to me I will kill myself". Funnily enough when he did finally do it they were 18 months past separation both in new relationships and being pretty darn civil to each other re. access to kids, etc.

This guy had actually had suicide on his mind since he was about 13 and my friend's counsellor, who has quite a lot of experience with suicides, says that this is often the way: suicides don't think there is any other path for themselves, and they often fix on this viewpoint from very early on.

When I heard about my friend's ex I looked up suicide online for statistics mostly but found several message boards with very specific advice about what to do and how to do it; which drugs are best to OD on, which knots are best to hang yourself with, etc. I think this and the anonymous, supportive group confessional 'thing' gives a lot of people the confidence to go ahead with something that would otherwise remain a vague and fairly frightening notion.

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thatperson- I am so pleased tor ead your post that thingsa re better now.

Please don't make the mistake of thinking someone who talks about suicide doesn't mean it. My Dh did when he ahd severe depression- luckily he failed. I do think that if he ahd otehr people in the same boat to talk to he would ahve felt less alone.

Also, my friend lost her adult son and brother to suicide and she had no idea- having somewheree for people to go to talk about how they feel is so important. She didnt even realise he was in need- it was over a debt of £350

I do know what you mean about the boards though0- I was supporting someone with an eating disorder by e-mail but relaised they were basically getting off on 'commiserating' on how much little they ahd eaten that day- me giving attention was simply reinforcing their behaviours. That worried me,how easily it was twiisted. but most depression isn't borderline suicidal or anything, its that nasty nagging emptiness that destroys lives, not takes them.

ThatPerson, I am so glad you are feeling better

ThatPerson, I'm so glad you are feeling better. I hope you don't mind me mentioning it here - I meant it as an example of what a supportive place MN is rather than the hideous arena that that chap found. I wish you all the best (without or without plastic surgery!).