There are many different definitions for suicide but the most commonly used is: the intentional taking of one's own life. Many people believe that suicide is never an option, that there is always something that can be done to prevent it. But others believe that under certain circumstances suicide is necessary. Never is a very strong word, but some people use it all the time when they say “suicide is never an option.” They say suicide is not okay because of their religion, their ethics, or even past experience. On the other hand some people disagree and say that suicide is okay under certain conditions like terror or depression.

Many religious people believe that suicide is a sin and if someone should commit this sin they should be damned to hell. They believe that committing suicide is wasting the incredible gift that god has given you. "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life..." (Deuteronomy 30:9-20). Committing suicide is, from a religious standpoint, betraying god and all your brother and sisters. Religious people believe that everyone was put on this earth to populate it and spread the love and joy of god, so when you kill yourself you can no longer populate the earth or spread the love and joy of god.

Some people are very harsh toward people who have or want to commit suicide. These people all have their varying reasons for thinking this. For example some believe that suicidal people are selfish, they believe that they just don't want to deal with their problems, they believe that people who want to kill themselves are weak that they just are not tough enough to handle life. They also think that a suicidal person just wants to draw attention to themselves. Some people are also very cynical towards people who are suicidal because they have either been in their shoes before, or they have known someone who has tried to commit or succeeded in committing suicide. Every suicide death effect approximately 5-6 people. That being said a lot of people have known someone who was suicidal. These people become hostile towards the very thought of suicide because it bring back old memories about their brother or their dad or their mom. This also makes it very difficult for these people to remain rational about the subject of suicide. As for people who have actually tried to kill themselves, they seem to regret their decisions in most cases. They try to spread tell others of their personal experiences so that other people won't make the same mistake they almost made.

On a complete opposite side there are people who think suicide is understandable under certain circumstances. They are not trying to justify it, they are just saying that these people that killed themselves have already gone through enough and they do not need people judging them in their grave. For example the people who were in the buildings on 9/11, for the people who were on the top floors it was either jump or burn to death. Some choose to jump, but should they be looked down upon for that. Some believe that in that circumstance they had the right to choose that way out of life.

Depression is complicated and not many people understand it, “Depression is nothing but an emptiness that nothing can fill, it is being tired and never feeling refreshed and awake. You go to bed tired,you wake up tired, you go through your day tired, and finally you go to sleep tired. It is emotionally and physically exhausting. Depression is something to have to experience to fully understand because no one can quite describe the extremely unique pain it brings, or the sinking feeling you get in your stomach when you want to be happy but you just physically can not bring yourself to smile. It is something you live with something that never goes away, even if you do overcome and survive depression its memories live on forever. Depression is something you can not and will not ever forget” (Anonymous interview). Suicide and depression often go hand and hand, once people become depressed it is hard for them to recover, many of these people often look to other means of escaping, often suicide. To them there is absolutely nothing else that can save them from their constant pain. Some people go years upon years depressed, but they hold on until they just can't take it any longer.

There are some people who think that suicide is never the answer that something can always be done in place of it. On the other end of the spectrum there are people who think that suicide is understandable and acceptable under certain conditions. Whether one side is right or the other, or even both suicide is still a very high cause of death. Suicide is most prevalent in teens and elderly people.