Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Part of the problem is a lot of internal conversation about suicide can actually trigger surviving people with suicidal tendencies. It’s a pragmatic recommendation supported by the medical community to limit communication related to a suicide; it’s not just a PR move.

It’s called suicidal contagion: https://www.hhs.gov/answers/mental-health-and-substance-abus...




I agree that's a problem, I mention that here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21227195

However I think we need to weight that risk with the risk that future suicides will occur for the same reason as the first, not inspired by the first, if the circumstances that lead to the first suicide are left unresolved. Addressing those circumstances means having an honest discussion about what happened, which can only happen if people are allowed to talk about it.

(Obviously glorification/etc of the suicide should be strictly off limits. There need to be guardrails on the discussion to mitigate risk.)




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: