Why do people commit suicide? What causes suicidal thoughts?

Sadly, suicidal thoughts have become more and more common. With the unrelenting pressures of modern day life, some people see their personal situation as completely hopeless. They feel that they have no power to change things for the better. They find themselves becoming immersed in total darkness and despair, with little hope of freedom.

So, what causes suicidal thoughts?

The causes of such acute depression and suicidal thoughts include:

• The societal and peer pressure to excel and acquire material wealth. This manifests in all areas of life - school, work and at home.
• Financial problems
• Conflicts in our relationships
• Loneliness
• Mental health conditions
• Chronic illness
• Sudden changes at work or in our environment
• Repetitive feelings of, ‘I am hopeless’
• Inability to be productive at work
• A traumatic experience such as losing a loved one
• Being continuously teased by our peers over something insignificant
• Being bullied at school, work or home
• Unemployment
• Mental or physical abuse
• Misuse of drugs or medication
• A breakup or divorce 

These things disrupt the peace of mind, stability and happiness of a person. They are the reasons that people harbor thoughts of taking their own life.

The Role of the Intellect in Suicidal Thoughts

The role of the intellect is to keep differentiating between good and bad in every situation. It will constantly bother you from within with observations like, ‘Look what she said’, ‘He is paid more than me’, ‘Everyone always takes her side’, ‘My viewpoint isn’t being considered’, ‘Everyone always ignores me’. It is these thoughts that are the root cause of your suffering.

Therefore, as your intellect increases, so does your internal suffering. For example, if the mother of a two-year old boy is dying, he will not be affected and will carry on laughing and playing. In the same circumstance, the dying mother’s twenty-five year old daughter will have a lot of emotional suffering. The reason is that as we grow, our intellect develops, and therefore we suffer more. So the internal suffering we feel is in direct proportion to the amount of intellect we have. The greater the intellect, the greater the suffering.

Suicidal Thoughts from a Spiritual Perspective

Akram Vignan, a spiritual science, explains what happens when natural thoughts stop flowing. When they are replaced with negative and pessimistic thoughts and you are thrown into internal darkness. You will not be able to think clearly and there will appear to be no solution to your problems. It’s like when you first enter a tunnel. There is some light, but the deeper you go in, the darker it becomes.

But, why do people commit suicide?

Akram Vignan explains that the primary reason why people think about ending their lives is that they had committed suicide in one of their previous lives. The karmic effects of that perpetuate for seven more lifetimes. However, the intensity of the suicidal thoughts diminish in each subsequent life, the way that the height a ball bounces back decreases in each subsequent bounce, when dropped from a height. And as a ball eventually comes to rest, the suicidal thoughts also come to an end.