Do you know anyone who's killed themselves over financial reasons?

[ansible]

I'm into crypto and sadly it's quite common. Bitcoin crashed 5% last night and someone I know who sunk in a lot of money into it killed themselves.

[Corgigal]

1. Lord,

I’m sorry.

Years back, I knew a guy who killed himself. His wife just had twins, and I don’t think he could handle the stress , income and personal. We, the group, we’re all in our mid-20s, and we were all so confused over it.

[Rorey]

7. We just never really know what burdens some carry

What may not be a burden to one person can seem insurmountable to another.

[soothsayer]

2. Jeez that's rough. But don't people who are really into it know it goes up and down?

Sad situation.

[customerserviceguy]

13. They don't even know

that it's fake money.

[soothsayer]

14. Well there's that.

[dawg day]

3. I had a neighbor who inherited his father's car dealership--

and ten years later, it failed. He killed himself the day after filing for bankruptcy. But it was more complicated-- he had lost a daughter a year earlier, and had never gotten over that.

His note, however, mostly dwelled on the shame he felt 'destroying dad's legacy." Very sad.

[sheshe2]

4. Yes.

My brother.

He hung himself.

So many bad financial decisions in his life.

[Rorey]

5. I'm so sorry

My son told me he was dipping his toe into Dogecoin awhile back. I cautioned him to be very careful, and I don't think he got into it too much.

I've always been a "slow and easy wins the race" kind of person. In fact, I just sold the only stock I own last week. I had hung onto it for about 20 years and I just decided to get it off my mind.

Please be careful, and, above all, please realize that it's just money. It seems like a huge deal when you're in the drama of it, but it's just money.

[Kath2]

6. Unfortunately, yes,

In the last few months I've lost two friends to suicide, one male and one female. I'm not sure it was all about finances, but I'm pretty sure it was a factor.

[Demobrat]

8. I didn't know him personally, but

a co-worker’s husband killed himself after five years of unemployment.

[jmbar2]

9. I am so sorry to hear that

I am a daytrader and have been watching that action for the past couple of days, hoping it would trigger a needed pullback. The market is overextended and most experienced traders/investors have anticipated a 6-10% pullback this month.

I had never thought of what would happen to the individuals who are overinvested.

Many young traders have never seen a bear market and have borrowed a lot to speculate.

It's pretty common for new traders to tank their account at least once when learning to trade. They can recover from it. Once the pullback is over, it will rise again.

Condolences to the family and friends of this person. Please put the word out for newbies to talk to more experienced folks in online forums about how to manage this. It's not the end of the world.

[cinematicdiversions]

16. They say the worst thing that can happen a new person at the dogtrack is to win big.

I have seen it time and time again (Former stockbroker here).

Losing all your money is a necessary lesson that helps you in the long run if you have perspective. Unfortunately, suicide too often is, as they say, a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

[captain queeg]

17. True. When I was about 18 I lost $50 playing poker. That was a lot of money back then

It cured me of gambling with any significant amount. I love playing poker, but nowadays I limit it to small change. My brother in law told me years ago to treat it like entertainment, expect to lose a certain amount and set a limit. That works real well for me and I enjoy playing more that way.

[jmbar2]

18. That is SO true!

I remember after Bush Jr. stole the election in 2000, a young man was so distraught that he committed suicide in Florida. By doing so, he didn't get to see Barack Obama become president.

That has always stuck in my mind. The permanent solution prevented him from seeing such a joyous victory just 8 years later.

[Hoyt]

10. Yes. Not totally finances. That amount of pain is so sad.

[Lefta Dissenter]

11. How sad. 😢

I’m so sorry.

Until Covid I worked for a bankruptcy attorney. I absolutely loved the work because we were able to help people see a path forward. A lot of people who came into our office in tears left with a huge weight lifted off their shoulders.

I’m just so sorry for those who have lost all hope.

[SheltieLover]

12. Yes, in large part due to student loans

[Arazi]

15. Yes. Insurmountable student loans (a veterinarian)

[TexasBushwhacker]

19. Oh yes. A former boss

I worked for a small commercial security company that had only been in business for a year. It was a partnership. One boss provided the money to get things going and keep us afloat. The other boss had the security experience. Like lots of start ups, we were not yet profitable.

One Saturday morning, the money man dropped dead of a heart attack. His family had no interest in continuing the partnership and pulled the plug. We had just enough money to make one last payroll.

The security guy tried to keep things going. He laid off half the staff and absorbed the other half into his private investigation company, but he couldn't keep it going. He took on some debt, but ended up filing for bankruptcy.

He and his wife had 4 kids. She had always been a stay at home mom, but she went out and got a job to try to make ends meet for their family. Her first day on the job, he shot himself at home. Their oldest child, a senior in high school, was home at the time and found his body.

[NNadir]

20. I had a house mate who killed himself.

He jumped off a bridge named for his uncle, after he moved out our house.

I had rescued him from one suicide attempt, after which he went back to his parents who only reluctantly, very reluctantly, let him back in.

When he was sane, he was one of the nicest people in the world, kind, intelligent, helpful and very funny.

However he was suffering from Schizophrenia. He became totally irrational, fearful, paranoid, Qanon before it was popular.

It wasn't like I wasn't forewarned. He told me right up front that he'd been hospitalized for mental illness before he moved in, but he was such a nice guy, I felt that he'd recovered completely and was pleased to invite him into the house.

It was horrible. I remember his suicide attempt in our home like it was yesterday, and hearing finally of his death, even though it was decades ago.