Do not be afraid

The great news is that we can actually speak the word “suicide” without bringing disaster crashing down upon our heads. Simply uttering the word will not conjure up the Four Riders of The Apocalypse; nor will it make the act of our own suicide inevitable.

Saying the word will not make it happen. The earth will not open up and swallow us, mountains will not crumble, nor will the skies fall on our heads. Say the word out loud - try it - you will not be struck by a bolt of lightning. The word itself is not evil. - it is not a spell . It is nothing to be afraid of. So why are we? What links suicide to the dark shadowy world of vampires, zombies and other horrors that lurk deep within our most primitive fears. 

Suicide did not become a crime under English Common Law until the 10th century (The so-called Dark Ages) and remained a crime until 1961 in the UK and 1993 in IRELAND. History records that a certain Walter Charlton first coined the name suicide in the year 1651. Prior to that, suicide was known throughout the English-speaking world as 'self-murder'. Only whilst researching this project did I notice that many 'sites' have reverted back to using the antiquated 'self-murder' description to justify their anti-euthanasia stance.

Having said that. It was only a few hundred years ago, in so called Early Modern Europe, that the corpses of suicides were thrown into ditches. Others, presumably with property which could be confiscated,  were legally put on trial in a court of law.

If found posthumously guilty of self-murder ( and let's be honest, they would hardly be in a position to answer the charges or defend themselves ) their bodies could be dragged through the community, hanged and be buried facedown at a crossroads with a stake driven through their hearts, to 'still' their restless souls. This judicial 'nicety' continued in Merrie Olde England until around the year 1823 and was seen as a fitting punishment for suicide.

How things have changed from those bygone dark days of ignorance and superstition. Now we are no longer buried at crossroads like vampires nor feared as zombies. However, a person who admits to feeling suicidal can still encounter those who link his or her 'condition' with phases of the Moon.  So much for this age of reason and enlightenment. As far as suicide is concerned, it is still shrouded in ignorance and superstition. And as long as it continues to be so, people across the world will be condemned to unnecessary death.