What Happens When You Fail at Killing Yourself With a Gun

I guess scissors DO work better.

Sadly, it is not uncommon for us to be consulted to assist in the care of a patient who attempted suicide. It's never the people who use drugs - they generally don't involve ocular injury. It's never the people who use a knife (or scissors) - they generally go for the chest which is sixteen or more inches from our comfort zone. It's always the people who use a gun who give us work to do.

But this too has variety. Pistols tend to be aimed at the temporal region or face front (or chest). The frontal approach I think tends to work well. The temporal ones fail (surprisingly) from time to time. But then there's the shot gun type - either in the mouth or under the chin. In the mouth is plus or minus. Under the chin frequently fails. The kick back with a long-barrel shot gun causes a gun once pointed towards the occiput to now point straight up through the face. The result is a failed attempt at suicide with a disfigured face.

Not having been there myself, I can only imagine one has to be at a pretty low point in their life to get to suicide. But regardless the reason, I don't think failure with a shotgun is a positive result in any way. You may call me cynical but hear me out. You're already so depressed you decide to shoot yourself and then don't do it right. What happens? 1) You failed - I think this falls pretty far short of being a wake up call. While suicide is never the answer, failure to do so correctly doesn't exactly boost morale. 2) You are now very disfigured. How does that work for your self esteem?

I would never say there is a right way to commit suicide, but in terms of doing it wrong, failing with a gun is about as wrong as you could go. You become a burden to the medical system and ultimately yourself and your family.