Sorry to hear this. Even though I'm not close with my neighbors it would be unnerving to have one do something like that. Maybe cause it's literally so close to home.

You're a good guy, Jeremy. Don't think anything you would have said or done would have made a difference in the end. But you're a good guy for at least asking the question. Most people wouldn't even ponder that.

At 16, my nephew killed himself with his stepfather's shotgun. Nobody saw it coming. My nephew actually called my brother to say goodbye, but it was early in the morning and the call woke him up. My brother asked him to call back later, rolled over and went back to sleep. He did call back a few minutes later and my brother let the answering machine pick up the call. My nephew left a brief message saying he really wished they'd been able to talk, and, of course, goodbye. He hung up and shot himself.

As much as my entire family was torn apart by this, it completely messed up my brother, who already had serious problems to begin with. After his son's death, my brother lived 12 tortured years before passing away last year at age 49 - it could be argued that his son's suicide was an indirect cause.

It's sad...everybody know a person who've done that kind of thing.

It is too bad that people know so little about depression, and the brain chemistry. Suicide is, in most cases, the extreme outcome of depression. That is an irrational act done in a moment of crisis. If you knew you were going to have a heart attack, you would take a pill to prevent it, right? People should know that if they feel like committing suicide, there are also pills that will help them feel better, see life in a more positive way, and take the necessary steps to solve their issues. Antidepressants do work.

sucky. my friend's uncle did himself when we were young. buddies mom came into the room and said, "cliff, you need to go home now". i quietly and quickly left...buddy was in hell. favorite uncle stuff.

"he took his dog"? what does that mean? he shot his dog, hung his dog, dog is alive and was in the garage?

My wife and I are looking for another house, we had set up a few to look at last weekend. It happened that one of them was right next to my agent's house. She was telling us about the nice fellow who lived there, who kinda kept to himself, and who killed himself in the house. I have a very good friend who has tried to kill herself twice, she actually managed to do it one time, doctors managed to bring her back. I just don't understand how life can become so bad that one feels that is the only way out. It is sad.

Sorry to hear about this, Jeremy.

wow jeremy just woke up , and im really sorry you have to endure this. suicide is usually if not all the time something no one sees coming. the issues your friend was facing may never be known. death is never something that is easy to accept and a suicide always leaves a vacum for everyone left holding the pieces of the puzzle.

sometimes you have to step back quite a few steps and really evaluate the situation. but you may never know the complete story "why"?

right now im in the age group where quite a few friends are now becoming "care givers" to their parents. and when its terminal, the stories get very painful. both my parents passed away suddenly, and i was left in a vacum. then quite a few other members of my family passed suddenly in a very short time span and the vacum became huge.

coping skills are hard if not impossible to figure out and many survivors go down the drug and booze highway and become victims themselves. caregiving to the elderly by a family member is usually fatal to the caregiver and all surrounding him or her. ie. divorces/booze/drugs/etc. coping by yourself is never good. hospice does have its place, and my g/friends brother works for hospice here, so i am familiar with all that goes on with family members facing the end.

the best thing you can do and obviously are doing is talking about it with others. keeping feelings hidden inside is bad.

my suggestion..........FWIW..............go for a road trip if ya got time, clear yer head, get some forced air induction on some twisties, write some song lyrics and stuff them away for later, have a few beers with some friends, talk about it with them, and just be glad that tonight when ya hit the rack, that today and your experience are over and tommorow make it a new day. immerse yourself in a project that keeps your mind off it if ya can.

good luck with this. i know its rough. bean der.........done dat and it sucks big time.

When I was in HS, there was a girl that lived close by. She got home from school one day and her mom was in the garage with the car running. I can't imagine what that would be like and unfortunately what that probably did to the girl.

My wife is 8.5 years older than I am. She had 3 kids. When I got here they were 9, 10, and 13. The oldest was 8.5 year younger than me. He had lived with his dad most of his life. He'd only started living with my wife just about the time that I showed up. His dad used to check himself into places with "thoughts of suicide" when things weren't going his way. His dad did it to get attention. My stepson had been on a few anti-depressants and had gotten into drugs. He tried to kill himself twice with benadryl. When he was 21, he had just gotten his blackbelt in Kuk Sool Wan and had just won an award at the Jr College for some writing he had done. Things had seemed better for him recently than they ever had. One night he stayed up until everyone went to bed, went out into an open field near the neighborhood with a shotgun and killed himself. His mother found the note in his room the next day and then found the body. It's not a good thing. I think the personal choice thing is crap.

Suicide is a most personal choice. Rarely do people kill themselves by committee. That's not saying there isn't anguish and horrible pain left behind. I am sorry if my semi-stupor post was taken as non-caring to the families or friends left behind. I didn't write exactly what I meant.

Every day there's news articles about mass killings followed by the perp, or in too many cases the father who just killed his family, committing suicide. If they would kill themselves first, so many lives would be saved.

Many religions consider suicide a sin that keeps them from heaven. My thought was in the eyes of God, a personal choice shouldn't be unforgiveable.

Sad story, I think the whole country needs a paid vacation.

The stress is everywhere.

Sadly this is going to get more and more common as more and more people slide into unemployment/poverty/despair.

I'm sorry to hear about this - my thoughts and good wishes to his family.

Sorry to hear this Jeremy,

Know that there was nothing you could have done.. these things run deep...

For those of you moralizing about suicide... it is never a good thing... but you obviously don't know how much depression can hurt.

As I told one counselor... would you walk up to a cancer patient and tell them to suck it up and stop hurting?

But if everyone is on vacation who will operate the rides at Disney World?

Or who will make up the beds at the resorts?

Thanks for all the kind words you guys.

I meant he killed the dog and then himself, apparently. Or maybe the dog died and he couldn't deal with it, and that pushed him over the edge. I don't know but I'm not gonna ask anybody.

A neighbor down the road took a gun and shot himself in the heart. His wife was leaving him and he recently lost his job. What really sucks is that his 16yr old son found him. I can understand the wife situation and wanting to get back at her, but to do it in the house so your kid finds you. Seems very selfish and evil to me. My little brother knows him and for a few weeks after he would just sit in class with his head hung low. Completely killed his spirit.

We will take turns and vacation in rotation.

Or we can outsource.:D

It's hard to comprehend the depression and absence of dreams for the future that leads someone to end their life. But I'm sure when the decision is made in their mind there is no stopping them. I've talked before about my experience with suicide, it's a very selfish act with no regard for who's left. Sorry to hear this Jeremy.

Maybe there is song in the story.
Seriously, jot down what you are feeling and maybe the melody will follow.


I've been through a BIL doing this as well as contemplating the same. Recently, I'm afraid I have to admit.:(


Unless you've experienced the feelings of hopelessness or despair, you really can't understand it.