Are suicidal thoughts a symptom of mental illness?

[Ruby]

Most people seem to associate people who are actively suicidal with mental illness. People who are so ill that they can't think clearly. What's with being detained under the mental health act? Freedom of choice doesn't exist these days. I want to die by suicide. I refuse to die suddenly in a freak accident or by a painful medical condition. I want to have the choice. I suffer from suicidal thoughts and I've attempted suicide and guess what happened to me? I was put on a section for months. To be sectioned you have to fit the criteria, one of which was - Mental illness. So feeling suicidal makes me mentally unwell does it? I'm in the right state of mind, I know that. I manage to hold a coherent conversation. Being sectioned made me think ONE thing and that was, ''Next time make sure you keep it to yourself/do it properly''. WHAT HAPPENED TO FREEDOM OF CHOICE? WE NEVER HAVE A CHOICE. The routine of life is tedious to the point of insanity.

 

[LeaveMeAlone]

I've noticed a very real connection between intelligence and depression / mental illness

it seems that most people I've met who are depressed especially on here, are very intelligent.

I think it is intelligence that enables suicidal thoughts, we have the ability to contemplate it, we can see the world from a perspective that doesn't include ourselves. Most people just cannot contemplate taking their own life.

That said, I think wanting to kill yourself is almost always as a result of being ill.

 

[mike25]

The mental health act is a very unpleasant document... if like us, you're classed as mentally ill. The act is a product of the continuing ignorance of the medical establishment about mental health.
On this entire planet, man is the only creature that contemplates suicide and actively carries it out. Since suicidal feelings spring from vast depths of emotional anguish, I think it's an unnatural phenomenon, and should be discouraged by talking&understanding. True love doesn't kill others or itself.