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A Friend’s Pessimism Ended in Suicide — His Death Triggered a Question
How do I enable pessimism?
A friends’ suicide rattled me enough to make me reflect on how I fueled his pessimism. I know the hazards of enabling pessimists from first-hand experience. For five years I shared a home with a soul who sincerely loved his misery. One day in August (date kept private on purpose) a kind, gentle, give-the-shirt-of-his-back kind of soul decided to end his life well before his time. Apparently it was far better to die of carbon monoxide asphyxiation than to continue life in a world he was 100% convinced was soon to experience a variety of apocalyptic events.
As his roommate, I witnessed his pessimistic roots grow more deeply with every the world is going to hell in a hand-basket rant. Rants inspired by yet another:
- priest being caught for sexual abuse (my friend was raised to be a devout Catholic). He didn’t live to see the day Spotlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
- politicians being caught for committing more crimes
- office politics invading how he thought he should do his j.o.b.
- lack of control over his time. Given his profession, he was expected to be on call 24x7x365.
