Stu

I'm not sure, but I think atheists might have the edge in one respect - an atheist who no longer wishes to exist would be more likely to consider death to be a solution. And most cases of suicide would come down to something as simple as this.

RAFH

I think suicidals would most likely be the ones to do suicide.

Idolator

Also those with the stronger psychological constitutions, I would guess. (But maybe this just depends on your definition of "psychological constitution.")

premjan

I guess if life seems worse by comparison you might off yourself. Though people who survive suicide attempts are often said to regret trying to off themselves - indicating it could be a problem of perspective, and lack of proximity to / experience with, the actual fact of mortality.

Idolator

...perhaps indicating that people who survive suicide attempts were less than serious about it. (The people who make serious attempts and fail sometimes regret it, but probably for different reasons.)

premjan

I guess if you were dead serious you would make sure there were no slipups - bullet in the brain ought to do it? What is the most foolproof commonly used method of suicide?

Idolator

Well here's a conversation-starter...

Over on the Student Doctor Network Forums they've actually discussed it a bit. A bullet in the brain is extremely dangerous, because there's the marginal-but-significant chance that modern medical science can resuscitate your leftovers, leaving you with not enough brain cells to finish the job, severe brain damage and facial deformity, and one Hell of a medical bill.

You'd probably be better off shooting yourself in the throat, if you were dead set on using a gun. Out of all the available options, however, I would prefer to use a relatively slow-acting poison in conjunction with high-dose dissociatives such as ketamine (these are also good for preventing brain damage due to oxygen deprivation). I've no idea what I'd use as a poison, but it would be best to use something that causes death without damaging any potentially useful organs (gotta think of other people too, y'know?).

Pastor's Nightmare

Japanese kamikazee pilots were not motivated by religious beliefs. It was the entire Japanese honor thing.

Pastor's Nightmare

Committing suicide is punishable by a sentence to eternal hell. I think this keeps Christians from committing suicide.

Idolator

Which prompts the question of whether there really is a difference between religious and political fanaticism.