A good friend of mine vs. a train. The results were as to be expected.

I didn't really grieve much. As an atheist I know there is no afterlife. Therefore everything he ever was or will be was gone (Would have been a decent lawyer. Not good, but decent). On the other hand, for him everything is also over. The light is switched off and the existence is vanished. No life, no problem.

It was hard for his family though. And some of my friends took it pretty hard. But I never was very sentimental to start with.

There are many stories of blind men who can see better than men who have perfect vision. They relearn to take on the world through sonar, vibe and feeling (much like bats).

There are some nasty situations, however, such as the story that Metallica touched on "Johnny Got His Gun."

When i went to school long ago, i always feared getting harrassed by a group of bullies in my class. One of the two leaders seemed to have quite a lack of respect for other individuals, even the teachers.

Now fast forward to present time.

One day, the father of one of the other victims from my now former class, dropped by with a pc that needed to be serviced. While fixing it, he told me that that 'leader' of the old group of bullies had become an alcohol addict, and had died from alcohol poisoning.

While i find it very difficult to forgive the bully (for ruining 3 years of my life, with following psychic problems all the way to adulthood), my heart goes out to his parents. It must be one of the worst things for a parent to loose a son or a daughter.

I've never considered afterlife 'punishment' for suicide other than the possibility that one might get to an 'other side' (of sorts) afterwards and feel like a real clod for running from a challenge they may have intentionally setup for themselves to begin with.

I consider the very idea that there is anything beyond death, positive or negative, ridiculous. It has nothing to do with some weird religious stigma that people who killed themselves have. When the brain stops working, its game over. No continues.

I did, two of my close friends. I have myself tried to as well. Isn't easy.

It's possible as well - Even if there is an external source energy driving us, all that was considered identifiable as a conscious individual may be lost along with the brain.

Being an agnostic I consider it stupid to consider the possibility ridiculous. :P

The only problem this that you are the only one who can ever claim he was right.

No I don't. I was once so drunk I could have sworn I saw a transformer. Doesn't mean I go looking for Megan Fox in my backyard.

Did you know that ghosts also exist? It's true, I saw it in Ghostbusters with my own eyes. Undeniable facts just like this website.

Near-death experiences do not prove after-life or something. There are a lot plausible scientific explanations for NDEs, see e.g. Wikipedia. And of course many NDE stories were simply made up.

And also what we want to believe. When you're dying, I suppose you would be susceptible to the mindset that there was light at the end of the tunnel whether or not you had subscribed to such ideas before inserting seven grams of copper-jacketed lead into your skull at a considerable velocity.

@topic title: As far as I know, no. I probably know a few who have tried or considered, but I'm not such a close friend that I would probe them about it, partly because I don't want them to think this would define them as a person to me.

I consider the idea of being born ridiculous. Does that mean I don't exist? ;)