I’m tired of hearing people say “committed suicide” rather than “died by suicide”. There’s barely a difference, but it still makes a world of different unconsciously to those who hear it and to friend and family of someone who died by suicide.
When someone says “committed suicide”, it criminalizes the suicidal person. Most of the time when someone “committed” something, it’s a crime. They committed a felony, they committed arson, they committed theft. Why are we associating mental illness with crime?
Not to mention the fact that we’ve shortened “committed suicide” to just “committed”. Unfortunately my sister committed. Committed what? Treason?
I think that more people should adopt saying “died by suicide”, as it humanizes the person and doesn’t associate them with criminals. It shows tragedy and how someone died, not what they should be charged for. You wouldn’t say an old person commuted old age, you’d say they died from old age.
Most people don’t think this way, but as someone who struggles with mental health himself, it’s not talked about nearly enough. A few words can make a world of difference.
