Dammit, Rassah, I keep thinking maybe we're getting somewhere, but no.

Okay, you asked me not to quote you, so I won't, but holy shit, you talk about anecdata filling people with expectations and then seeing patterns that fill them, and that's all your post is. That's it. You have preconceived ideas, and you fit life into those patterns. You see what you expect to see.

You mention people who threaten it in drama-whore ways: which, welcome to drama-whores. Just because a drama-whore threatens to leave a forum and never come back doesn't mean people never leave forums, either. Those people are a minority.

When people on the news who are newly bereaved say "I had no idea he wanted to kill himself," that doesn't necessarily equate to there having been no signs. That's often a case of those people having blinkers on. If you dig, you can uncover signs, like the person saying the day before "if I died tomorrow, you could pay off the house" and oh, hey, that's not the same thing! Or "Sometimes I think everyone would be better off if I was dead." The horrible truth is that people don't want to believe that people around them are in that much pain and considering it.

My parents also said that people who threaten suicide never do it: it's a common belief from their generation. It's also been thoroughly debunked by actual mental health professionals. Yes, suicide is stigmatized, but plenty of people are trying their damnedest to make it so that it isn't. More importantly, actual mental health professionals presumably have the resources to manage a study with the proper controls in place, so saying that the statistics are naturally going to be off has no basis in any sort of reality.

The reason I am adamant about this is that, again, this belief is wrong and causes real, actual damage. Some people who are suicidal are scared, because they are suicidal but do not actually want to die (it's possible, think about it), and they're trying to find someone to help them hold on. Being brushed aside because "talking about it means you don't mean it" just pushes those people into attempting.

Again, the fact that I had nine links and Phinneas Gage had a tenth -- and that I could easily find another five to ten, if you like, right now -- and all you have is some vague statements backing what I already said, that some people threaten suicide without meaning it? That should tell you something. Namely, that you're clinging to a preconceived ideal with absolutely no rational reason to it except "your gut."

That's fine, and your gut can think whatever it wants, but I'm still not satisfied about this. I wanted you to walk it back -- and started this messy derail -- because this isn't just an "agree to disagree" concern. This is something that can actually hurt people.

It's not okay to cling to ignorance just because you've never looked critically at something your mom told you once. Prejudice is prejudice. Opinions like yours contribute to the stigmatization of mental health, and the difficulty people have in getting help for serious problems.