Suicide by drowning?

My Friends father has just committed suicide. He had drown himself. Why drowning, and why didn't he leave a note for his son's at least? Is this common?

The person who said that suicide by drowning is uncommon is correct. While there are a few exceptions with regard to a medical examiner's statement regarding cause of death, drownings to not usually get classified as suicide. On the occasions where the drowning is listed as suicide there is usually a note left behind or the person told someone what they were planning to do. I am certain that there are MANY cases of "accidental" drowning that were in fact the result of suicide. With regard to "leaving a note", a person in this state of depression is going through an awful lot of emotions. One of those is guilt. Oftentimes the person does not want people to know that he/she ended their life. If someone has not personally experienced clinical depression then they can not begin to understand that depression can be a fatal disease. With depression there are two options for beating it......treatment and death. It can devour even the strongest of us and even those who seem to have everything going for them in life. It is an organic disease like any other and untreated it can have drastic consequences.

I am sorry for his loss and yours. May he rest in peace.

suicide by drowning is very uncommon, i would look a little farther into his death!

I am so very sorry for you friend's loss.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to say why your friends father made the choice that he did. Unfortunately, your friend is left to deal with the aftermath.

The way to be a good friend at this point is to be open and to be available. Let him know that you are there for him to talk or just to hang out whenever he might need. Let him know that if he wants to talk about his dad or about the suicide, that you are willing to listen, but that you don't want to push it or make him feel uncomfortable.

Take the time to google some local resources in your area related to grieving. Oftentimes, there are local support groups that meet on a regular basis. You may get some leads by contacting the folks at http://www.griefnet.org. Make the contact info available to your friend (just write the phone number or email addy down on a notecard for him).

Again, so sorry for his loss,
~M~

My condolences to your friend.

Sometimes a person cannot find the words to write. As for drowning, there are any number of reasons. Your friends dad had some problems and he didn't feel like he could find an answer in his current situation. Don't feel to blame, no-one is.

yes especially when people don't want to admit their faults. This man apparently thought he deserved to die a horrible death and didn't even think people would care if they heard form him. Chances are he was very low on self esteem and had a severe mental disorder. It is very common for people to do things like this. He didn't leave a letter because he didn't want to put it on paper and make it official showing others his faults, I hope your friend recoups from this and becomes a great person.

Obviously he didnt want to die slowly or whatever, by taking an overdose or something. Maybe he just did it on the spur of the moment, not even thinking to write his son a note, many people that commit suicide dont think to leave a note...or just deliberately dont coz they dont want to hurt anyone...x

Some people just reach the point where nothing matters, where they no longer value life. Perhaps he chose that way because it was a way that he felt would be less painful than the other alternatives. It's untelling what he was thinking.
But he probably didn't leave a note because of shame. Just leave with a clean slate and not leave a written reminder. Perhaps he didn't really want to, but he felt there was nothing else he could do.
Then again, it may not have been suicide. My father died when I was 6 months old, they called it suicide, he was shot....I read the coroners report, it wasn't suicide, it would have been physically impossible for him, concidering the gun used, the angle the bullet entered, so on and so forth.
Sometimes, it's more than what it seems. You never know.

Unfortunately, this is common. Your friend's father apparently felt overwhelmed by problems he was having and he felt that he had no other way out. I'm sure that he loved his children, even if he didn't leave them a note. Unfortunately, mental illness can lead a person to lose sight of the effect his behavior can have on others.

Great suffering and arrogance can lead to great evil.