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Can suicide ever be a rational choice?

More than two-thirds of all suicides are driven by a mentally disordered mind, experts say. But a provocative new article published this week in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry asks can suicide ever be rational — a decision made under free will, in the absence of any diagnosable mental illness and with full appreciation for the potential consequences?

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“Designating suicide as an undesirable event that should never occur raises the debate of who is responsible for one’s life and runs the risk of erroneously attributing blame for suicide,” University of Toronto psychiatry resident Dr. Angela Ho writes.

In cases where people are of full mind and mental capacity, “there is much debate about whether suicide can ever be rational,” Ho writes.

Society’s “overarching desire” is to prevent death by suicide, she said.

[np_storybar title=”Getting help” link=””]Suicide is a major cause of premature and preventable death. It is estimated that, in 2009 alone, there were 3,890 suicides in Canada, a rate of 11.5 per 100,000 people. The suicide rate for males was three times higher than the rate for females. During 2009, a total of 2,989 males committed suicide compared to 901 females. The highest rates of suicide occur during midlife, in people aged 40 to 59.