1. “Depression: Hopelessness and Self-Loathing.” Depression: Hopelessness and Self-Loathing. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Background: Depression can be a horrific experience, in which individuals see their experiences and world around them as an escapeless torment. Depression has many telltale factors, but two of the more prominent are feelings of hopelessness and self-loathing.
How I intend to use it: I will use this article to single out the initial hesitation to mental help, whether it be medication or therapy. Stigmatizers of suicide attack the depressed who are already disinclined from seeking help, and the added torment will in no way help the suicidal from seeking help.

2. “Depression Symptoms & Warning Signs.” : Recognize Depression Symptoms & Get Help. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Background: Depression can interfere with many aspects of daily life. It is different from the emotion of sadness in that major and clinical depressions persist on a daily basis. Depression is a major risk factor for suicide in that it engenders feelings of hopelessness and despair. Thoughts of death are not often unwarranted, and there will often be warning signs indicating that a person is taken the step from cronic depression to suicidal.
How I intend to use it: This will allow me to examine the hypocrisy of stigmatizers in saying those who have committed suicide are selfish. By saying warning signs are a frequent occurrence; those who condemn the dead were oblivious to the hints offered. In a sense, they are the selfish ones for not recognizing and helping individuals in need.

3. “Is Suicide a Selfish Act?”, “Is Suicide Cowardly?” The Premier Online Debate Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
Background: Debate.org may is manly a source of open discussion allowing anonymous users to state their opinions on controversial issues. Two debates were posted which begged the questions “Is Suicide Cowardly?”, and “Is Suicide Selfish?” Responses from both sides were given, some saying yes to both and others refuting both.
How I intend to use it: Debate.org is not a truly reliable source of information, so I will not back sound, logical arguments with research from this site. However I intend to use the proponents from this site as a voice of the stigmatizer, who claims suicide is both selfish and cowardly. In doing so I can present a stigmatizer’s perspective, while attempting to refute the arguments. The claims made from this site are opinions, which have no purpose to be fabricated, and can therefore be validated as truthful exemplifications of perspectives regarding suicide. I will refute the opinions of stigmatizers with credible sources, but I simply needed some way of portraying false beliefs. Also this will allow me to break the ice regarding a claim that any stigmatic opinion is enough to silence and harm a majority of people.

4. Madison Holleran’s Father Says the Promising Track Star Killed Herself over University Stress.” NewsComAu. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Background: A news report about a young college freshman named Madison Holleran at the college of Penn State who recently committed suicide. The young lady was, severely stressed out and her parents could tell there was something wrong with her. When they thought she had her mood under control she returned to school only to become further stressed thus resulting in her suicide. Before she jumped, she left a gift basket for her friends and family thanking them for their continued support and help throughout her fight with suicidality and stress. All accounts speak of how outgoing, selfless and and wonderful of a person she was.
How I intend to use it: I can broach the topic of increasing suicide rates in college. Asserting new experiences without the help of parental guidance and feelings of being trapped in a strange place help contribute to these increasing numbers. This can also help me refute many aspects of a stigmatic perspective. Firstly, Madison never showed signs of being a selfish individual; in fact her final act of kindness is near proof to the contrary. Secondly, she had braved the monster of college, new cirriculums and strangers without parental guidance, thus making her heroic.

5. “Media Guidelines for Suicide Reporting.” Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014
Background: The media must approach suicide with a hesitant approach. Studies have been performed which link media coverage of suicide to increased suicide rates among a target audience. The media must attempt not to sensationalize the suicide or its victim, but rather inform unbiased.
How I intend to use it: I can introduce this weak defense for the archaic silence surrounding suicide. The media, until this is presented is silent for no reason regarding suicide. They attempt to appease the suicide stigmatizers, or better yet excuse themselves from the responsibility of combating sitgmatizist perspectives.

6. Neuman, Fredrick. “Fighting Fear.” The Purpose of Feelings. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Background: Fear is an instinctual and necessary emotion. In life or death situations fear can keep us alive by use of the fight of flight response. Every fear and phobia that humans have, comes from the brains inert, instinctual drive avoid death at all costs.
How I intend to use it: I can use this information to show that it is not cowardice, but intelligent to have feelings of fear. This is also valuable in my attempt to discredit the idea that suicide is an act of cowardice. A coward succumbs to fear, which purpose is to keep our body alive. If the person were a true coward he wouldn’t be capable of killing himself, fear would disallow him from doing so.

7. Schonfeld, Zach. “Did Kurt Cobain’s Death Lower Suicide Rates?” http://www.newsweek.com/did-kurt-cobains-death-lower-suicide-rate-1994-244332. New’s Week, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Background: Kurt Cobain was an inspiration to millions of adolescents and adults alike. Cobain’s suicide, if the so-called suicide contagion were 100% true, then there should have been a spike in suicide rates immediately following his death. The media did not glorify his action and provided help hotline calls whenever mentioning his suicide.
How I intend to use it: I can refute that the silence surrounding suicide has to do with the contagion. If we have learned the correct way to report these tragic events then the true reason we still so often refuse to talk about it is the stigma. The media doesn’t even acknowledge the false opinions of the suicide bashers. Their silence is essentially part of the stigma itself; by not addressing suicide, or the horrible opinions which are often voiced, they cannot expose the stigma for how week it truly is, thus allowing it to continue.

8. “Suicide Prevention (SUPRE).” WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Background: Suicide rates have been on the steady increase since the year 2000. Even still 80% of clinically depressed individuals do not search for treatment. There are many psychiatric medications and treatment which can easily help people if they seek it, but they do not.
How I intend to use it: The will allow me to beg the question why, specifically, why are the depressed disinclined from seeking treatment. The stigma is responsible for the disinclination to seek help when thinking seriously about suicide.

9. “Survival | Brain Rules |.” Survival | Brain Rules |. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014
The brain’s purpose is to keep an organism functioning. It allows us to asses dangers in our outside environment and respond to them in a productive manner.
How I intend to use it: The stigmatizer will frequently use this as evidence to their arguments, saying that your brain cannot possibly purposely commit self-destruction, more importantly that every act of suicide is a result of insane, illogical thinking. What they fail to realize is that differences in perspectives, are differences in the reality of individuals. Chemical imbalances are determined from genetics and births and make up a large portion of depressed individuals. This is not the brain working incorrectly; this is the brain functioning correctly from the perspective of a depressed.

10. “The British Journal of Psychiatry.” Suicide as an Outcome for Mental Disorders. A Meta-analysis. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
Background: Many suicides are the result of many serious mental disorders. This is largely due to the fear to seek treatment because of the stigma around mental illness. They fear they are in effect crazy and by seeking help they can and will make their situation worse.
How I intend to use it: I will portray this information correctly, granting stigmatizers a glimpse of correctness before demolishing this unintelligent belief. The truth is some suicides are the result of information, but overgeneralizing this information can result in a widespread stereotyping of the mentally ill. Likewise this information does not prove that every suicide victim had a mental illness, there are simply too many variables to prove this.

11. “The Six Reasons People Attempt Suicide.” Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
Background: There are generally 6 major reasons people commit suicide, depression, psychosis, impulsivity, cry out for help, philosophical desire for death, and finally a mistake.
How I intend to use it: I will likely single out depression, using it to support my claims that suicidality generally results from depression. I will use psychosis as a testament to emphasize that this is not nearly as common causation as depression, and when it does occur it is more likely to be because of neglect to seek psychiatric help.