Official Mass Shooter Thread

[Anomalocaris]

The statistics say that it is more likely that having a gun in your home is much more likely to kill yourself ...

This reminds me of a research paper I wrote some years back. Psychology class. Vista Bridge, Portland Oregon. The site of many suicides. So the city erected a barrier that made it nigh impossible for people to jump off.

You'd guess people would just go to another bridge. But most did not. Erecting the barrier actually reduced total suicides... just by making it inconvenient.

That fascinated me. I think this gives us some insight into the nature of suicidal motivation. There is a natural reluctance to commit the act within those who would consider it. Making it inconvenient, though it seems trivial, does real work in suicide prevention.

Guns are a stickier issue. As are mass shootings. Not really commenting on any of that. But the "create obstacle" method of suicide prevention is quite interesting, and deserves our attention.

I think that is expected.   People in a frame of mind to overcome obstacles would be much less likely to resorted to suicide in the first place.  so adding to the difficulty of suicide should significantly reduce suicide rate.

I suspect just making suicide legal, but requiring perspective suicider to fill out several binders full out paperwork first would dissuade a significant percentage of suicide attempts.

Indeed the preventive power of hurdles can be seen in the fact that treatment for severe depression has been shown to increase suicide rate amongst the treated, because a lessening of depression actual increases the victim’s willingness and ability to over come hurdles in the course of carrying out a suicide attempt.