According to Samaritans, 1 in 5 individuals have had thoughts of ending their lives. In other words, a fleeting thought about ending one’s life is something that most have experienced or may likely experience at some point. The reasons why people end their lives are numerous, complex, and ultimately not my focus. That being said, there is help available, and I have attached this list of helplines provided by the MIND Charity.
Earlier this year, I began examining why the word ‘suicide’ carries such profound stigma. Its etymology reveals something telling: coming from the Latin suicidium (sui - “of oneself” and caedere - “to kill”), the term only entered English in 1651, replacing the more accusatory ‘self-murder.’ This shift in language might seem subtle, but it marked a crucial change in how society viewed and discussed the act. By the mid-18th century, it had become established in Johnson’s Dictionary. Notably, Walter William Skeat’s An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language (1882) suggests earlier terms like suicist and suicism were rooted in notions of selfishness - a prejudice that persists today.
Today, the term ‘suicide’ has false associations of despair, futility, and failure with ending one’s life. In the months since, I have developed one conclusion: the stigma exists primarily due to its etymology, AND is subsequently perpetuated by the conventional language surrounding the ‘S word’ itself.
Catherine Ruff provides some useful perspectives on suicide during the era in which Stoicism emerged. At first glance, Stoicism appears at odds with suicide through its teachings of resilience, dignified endurance of hardships, and apatheia. Yet, Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, strangled himself to death. Similarly, historical literature has depicted self-inflicted deaths without stigma, and in some instances, as acts of heroism: from biblical Saul to Shakespeare’s Ophelia. Similarly, the self-inflicted deaths of Cato the Younger, Socrates, Brutus, Cassius, and Mark Antony were viewed as acts of martyrdom.
Attitudes toward suicide as a crime have shifted dramatically throughout history. Ancient Rome viewed it as an offense against the state, while Medieval Europe condemned it as a sin, imposing severe penalties including property confiscation and denied burial rights. England decriminalized it in 1823, though attempting suicide remained a crime until 1961. Today, while no longer criminalised, it continues to carry profound stigma.
The way language shapes our understanding becomes clear when we consider how the ‘-cide’ suffix in suicide subtly places it alongside homicide, infanticide, and genocide. This perpetuation occurs through language transmission - the word’s centuries-long evolution - and the sociological beliefs embedded within its generational use. Linguistic determinism suggests that the language used by a group influences their thoughts, perceptions, and worldview, ultimately shaping how individuals understand and experience reality. Many people falsely perceive suicide as ‘giving up’ or ‘ending one’s future’ often while connoting that those ending their lives - or even contemplating ending their lives - are unable to find enjoyment and/or purpose.
Research has consistently revealed that effective support and prevention can be achieved without condescension or infantilising approaches, proving far more effective than well-intentioned but judgmental hyper-optimistic rhetoric. I suppose future prevention means replacing the outdated term; perhaps this may eradicate its stigma once and for all.