Broncos WR Kenny McKinley found dead

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by Giantone

The last thing someone suffering from depression feels like is .............."heroic".

Not necessarily. A friend of mine lost his dad to suicide. The dad felt he could not give his wife and kids what they want, and saw suicide as the only way he could provide for them through a life insurance policy. He expressed a belief that this was the only way he could make sure they would be ok. The family would rather of had their dad, and an outsider would not have seen it as a "heroic" gesture, but the dad in his depression did.

The thing about severe depression is that it so warps a persons reality that they are no longer thinking in the same terms as a functioning person. Thus what a non depressed person may see as "cowardly" the severely depressed person sees as the only option. At that point the brain can begin building the belief that this is not only an acceptable option it is in fact the best option. Once a depressed person believes it is the best option the brain can take the step to believe that it is a heroic gesture.

I am not saying every suicide has that as a motivation, but I know with a certainty that it can be.