Suicide and Drug Abuse There

Suicide and Drug Abuse

There is a current trend to support the right to suicide or to die with dignity. This trend does not reflect popular view and I do not support the view that one has the right to commit suicide or in other words the right to die or to die with dignity. There are several reasons why I believe that no one has the right to take their own life. The first and foremost reason is that suicide in today's world is looked upon by society as the symptom of a social illness. Thus the possibility of committing suicide or of the person being a danger to oneself or to anyone else and this normally refers to being a threat to oneself alone is sufficient grounds for locking the person up and taking proactive measures in ensuring that the concerned person is not in a position to take their own life. Suicide and attempted suicide may no longer be considered as criminal offences but that still does not give reason for any sufficient right to commit suicide. (Living and Dying the State's Way)

There are very few people who sit down and take a very rational decision to commit suicide. There are studies that have shown that more than ninety percent of those attempting suicide are those that are suffering from mental disorder that can be identified. This then makes it very clear that a vast majority of those attempting suicides are those that are mentally ill and in my view it is not correct to give them the right to die. The next reason is that these individuals with who attempt suicide are likely to take the decision on suicide because of a distorted judgment on their part. Suicide is many a time attempted as a desperate resort by individuals that believe that their situation is so hopeless that it is without remedy. Experts in the field of psychology make it very clear that the assessments of these individuals on their personal difficulties are completely flawed. Studies have revealed that during the period that an individual is obsessed with committing suicide, these individuals have thought processes that tend to be very rigid and in a dichotomous way, causing them to see everything in the terms of all or nothing and thus unable to consider any alternatives for themselves. They can also have out of the ordinary expectations of themselves that are unrealistic and thus make them more depressed. (Why We Shouldn't Legalize Assisting Suicide)

The next reason is that the attempts of suicide should be seen as a cry for help of a person that is terribly depressed. This is because studies and the descriptions provided by suicide attempters who did not succeed in their attempts due to external intervention have revealed that most of those attempting to commit suicide have a definite or irreversible desire to die. The attempt to commit suicide is thus more of a means for crying for assistance than the end itself. The next reason is that many of the disorders that lead people to commit suicide are treatable and thus they can be brought back to lead normal lives. Depression definitely is in the realm of treatment and alcoholism or drug abuse can be conquered by a strong effort from the individual with assistance of those around the individual. Any other emotional or mental pattern of thought that leads the individual to consider suicide can be treated with psychiatric assistance. In fact should the right to die be given to these individuals we would be doing them a great injustice in that we would be refusing their cry for help and pushing them into a step that is not truly desired by them.

The final and clinching reason in my argument against the right to die lies in the fact that many of those rescued from committing suicide seldom repeat the attempt again. This is very clear proof that many of those individuals attempting suicide are not really determined to end their lives and once they are treated or brought out of the mental state that led them into the act of suicide they seldom ever repeat it again. This makes it very clear that instead of making the right to die available to them we should instead intervene to prevent the individual from committing suicide and try to keep the individual alive so that more respect is paid to the true intentions of the act and in that way give more respect to the autonomy of the individual. I am of the opinion that these reasons justify my opinion that the right to suicide should not ever be considered. (Why We Shouldn't Legalize Assisting Suicide)

The social explanation of alcohol addiction or drug abuse makes the social conditions that surround the individual that is afflicted with addiction as the causative factor. Life style factors of the individual that cause exposure to alcohol or drugs is considered as the cause that sets the pattern for addiction gradually creeping in. This has been the traditional way that society has looked upon any alcohol addict or drug addict. There is greater contempt in this way of considering addicts as the belief is that there are others indulging in this activity in the social group yet most of the others have better self-control and the addict lacks the will to keep the addiction in check. This concept of alcohol addiction and drug abuse consider that these habits could have started at school or college as the chances of exposure along with the peer group especially in the case of males will be high as they try to demonstrate their superiority. (Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Men)

This experience instills in them the beginning of the habits but a vast majority of them realize their responsibilities as students while a few get sucked into the whirlpool of addiction of either alcohol or drugs and this is because of their lack of mental strengths to recognize when it is time to quit. Then as the individual move ahead into working environments the social circles definitely offer vast opportunities for alcohol consumption as all occasions are celebrated with alcohol and so too is the normal evening outings. Drug abuse starts with light drugs in small groups. The ability to control the quantity of liquor consumed and how often it is consumed is on the individual as it is believed that a responsible adult would know when to quit. In the case of drugs too this is the base rule and also it is considered that the mental strength of the individual will prevent a responsible adult from indulging in anything other than the light drugs and that too only on occasions. Any individual who does not keep within these parameters and becomes a drug or alcohol addict is considered a weak individual and the social exposure is never blamed as the cause for it. (Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Men)

The gene explanation of alcohol and drug abuse is that the addiction is more in the realms of a disease brought upon by genes that give the individual a predisposition to either alcohol or drugs. This has raised a lot of controversy as it clashes with the social explanation of alcohol and drug abuse which believes that addiction is due to habit picked up in social interaction, which grows into addiction as the individual does not have the mental strength to keep the habit from growing into an addiction problem. The gene explanation of alcohol and drug abuse is supported by research studies that have shown that there is a genetic link to both alcoholism and drug addiction. These studies show that the offspring of alcoholics and drug addicts are three to five times more chances to develop alcoholism or drug addiction than in the case of those who are not alcoholics or drug addicts. (the Disease Concept)

Thus it is not really the fault of the individual's will power but rather the genes which provide a predisposition to a small segment of the population to become alcoholics or drug addicts. This explanation has gone down well with the Alcoholics Anonymous as well as the liquor industry though for different reasons. The Alcoholics Anonymous has always tried to prove that it was not the limitation of the individual's mental powers that have led to the individual becoming an alcoholic and this explanation has justified their claims. On the other hand the happiness of the liquor industry stems from the fact that they can now claim that liquor is not bad for the major population who can indulge in drinking without being predisposed to becoming alcoholics, which is likely to happen to a very small section of the population that have genes that give them the predisposition to becoming alcoholics. This makes the liquor lobby happy in that they now have a tool to fight against the temperance lobby and their aims at prohibition. (the Disease Concept)