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fortunes in the 1929 Depression com–
mitted suicide. They simply gave up -
agreed to accept failure - instead of
fighting back.
Inability to cope with sudden changes
is a dangerous characteristic. Many are
not resilient enough
to
adjust
to
a sud–
den turn of events. Even local disasters
such as severe storms, typhoons, hurri–
canes and earthquakes have caused sorne
to take their own lives.
Revenge is cited as another cause of
suicide. Revenge is another effect of
failure, this time the failure to grow up
emotionally. A teen·ager wants to "get
even" with his parents and reasons the
way to do so would be to hurt or
kili
himself. A teen-age girl with much of
life yet to be lived will jettison it to
"get back at" a boy who has jilted her.
A wife and mother will strike out at her
husband andfor children, hoping to
hurt them by hurting herself.
Lifelong String of Fail ures
It should be understood that a single,
individual failure seldom drives one to
suicide. Generally a lifelong string of
failures - and especiaHy an
attitttde
of
failure - precipitates suicide. Por sorne
people failure becomes a way of life.
Many have never made, and have never
been taught to make, decisions. Sorne
have never been given responsibilities,
and as a result are incapable of han–
dling crises. A sudden shock or per–
sonal difficulty becomes "just too
much."
The Mind of a Suicidal
Dr. Michael Peck of the Los Angeles
Suicide Prevention Center was asked to
comment on the "frame of mind" of
persons contemplating suicide. He
explained that they are people who
from infancy
have never learned to
make decisions.
They become trapped in
a helpless, hopeless mentality. They
can't seem to change their course from
failure to success no matter what they
do. They are emotionally immature,
usually moody, and have oever learned
to control their emotions.
Dr. Paul Popenoe, President of the
· American Institute of Family Relations,
explained that many people can't cope
with problems because they are kept in
a state of over-dependence even into
The
PLAIN TRUTH
their college days. It is only after they
leave home and school that they reach
some degree of independence. Then
they find they do not know how to
make crucial decisions.
Learning to control our minds and
emotions should start early in child–
hood. But it is never too late to learn.
Maturity, whether it be physical, mental
or emotional, can be learned. The lack
of it, particularly that of emotional ma–
turity, is a root cause of many social
problems.
Take the problem of loneliness -
often a motive for suicide. One who is
emotionally mature, who has learned
how to be successful, handles it this
way. Rather than giving up, childishly
11
1n America suicide is
a ma¡or killer- now
among the
TEN LEAD–
ING CAUSES OF ADULT
DEATH.
11
muttering, "nobody !oves me" and com–
mitting suicide, that person resolves to
do something about it. He goes to work
on his personality to make it more
pleasing. He makes himself more like–
able and enjoyable as a person. He
decides to be a better friend. He learns
to build friendships. A person who is
motivated in this way will normally be
able to dispel loneliness.
Likewise, a husband and wife with
marital difficulties can resolve them.
They can begi.o to live by the laws that
guarantee a happy marriage. They can
sit down together and talk it over, com–
muoicate, analyze the problem - then
mutually work to correct it. Rather than
giving up, childishly seeking revenge,
striking out to hurt - a successful per–
son will
change himself,
make himself a
better mate.
Problems - almost any problem in
marriage or out - can be solved. But
it requires emotionally mature people
with resi lience to tackle and solve
interpersonal diffi.culties. The same
procedure applies to the other pre–
viously mentioned motives which often
precipitate a suicide.
August 197t
Sudden shock will not defeat an
emotionally stable person. One who has
a sound mental attitude can cope with
failure and turn it into success. A per–
son who has learned to be emotionally
stable will handle guilt in the same ma–
ture manner. He will realize he did
something wroog, be sorry for it and
determine not to repeat the same
mistake.
Emotional Stability
We all need to understand one guid–
ing principie. The basic problem with
people wbo are suffering neuroses, men–
tal stress and those who ultimately com–
mit suicide is that they are too
preoccupied with themselves. They are
self-conscious, self-seeking, or fearful
that the self will fail in sorne way.
It is natural to waot to succeed, to
be happy, to be loved, to preserve
the self. These needs and desires
are not wrong. It is also natural to
have fears. Without normal, helpful
fears none of us would be alive today.
Proper fear is merely the drive for self–
protection. Without this fear we
wouldn't exercise proper caution against
injury or failure.
But when emotions are oot properly
controlled, the natural desire for self–
protection in whatever forro creates
unnatural neuroses, phobias and des–
pendencies. The mind becomes dis–
traught to the point of utter despair,
and utter despair can lead to suicide.
An individual must learn to exercise
proper control over bis emotions.
It
must be exercised daily - in all the
various situations that constitute daily
life. It must become a
HABIT!
This
requires an objective evaluation of per–
sonal weaknesses and inadequacies, and
the character to discipline the self. lt
isn't always easy - or immediately
enjoyable, but the long range rewards
are well worth the effort.
For those who would like further
helpful principies, our free booklet
titled
The Seven Laws of S11ccess
dis–
cusses how an individual can be success–
ful in every area in life. It explains that
no person ever need be a failure. Any–
one can learn to be truly happy, emo–
tionally stable and able to turn defeat
into success by
applying
the principies
discussed in this booklet. O