# How hard would it be to stab yourself to death? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 19, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022 "2008-04-19T17:09:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shigyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@shigyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shigyu)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/1 "2008-04-19T17:09:11Z")
Like, through the heart? This seems like the most obvious way to kill yourself, but suicides seem to gravitate toward more elaborate/slow measures. I don’t know much about anatomy, is this not as easy as I’m assuming it is? ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/2 "2008-04-19T17:10:37Z")
Well as anyone who’s seen Pulp Fiction knows, you have to go through the breastplate to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/3 "2008-04-19T18:58:40Z")
**shigyu** –do you need help? Are you alone? Do you need to talk to somebody? Stabbing yourself is a very bad idea! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/4 "2008-04-19T19:07:25Z")
The only person I’ve heard of who actually did this was disgraced Queens borough President [Donald Manes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Manes). He did it when he was put on hold on the telephone. By his psychiatrist. You cannot make that shit up. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/5 "2008-04-19T21:02:19Z")
The big problem is that it is psychologically difficult to stab yourself with the strength and follow-through that are necessary to drive the blade in all the way. Your automatic instinct is to flinch or hold back to spare yourself the pain. Most suicides approach the problem is a way to give themselves the least pain, to avoid needing to actively rip up their body for themselves, and to not give themselves an out. Guns are irrevocable once the trigger is pulled, as is poison, hanging, jumping off high objects or into the paths of moving objects, etc. Those who commit suicide by slitting their wrists are often found with several not-quite deep enough cut marks before they finally get it right, and failed attempts because of this are common. The object of suicide is to \*stop \* the pain, emotional or physical, the person currently feels. Inflicting deliberate pain on yourself to achieve that end is a psychological hurdle that is next to impossible to overcome. There are physical reasons as well. The heart is well-protected by bone and muscle; most people couldn’t find their hearts in their body to save their lives, let alone end it (that’s why stomach pain is called heartburn); the angle to stab oneself in the heart is a difficult one; and the range of motion to get up speed and strength is extremely limited compared to the motions possible when stabbing someone else. The thought of failing at suicide is a horror to someone who feels so failed at life to try to commit suicide in the first place. That’s why plans are often elaborate. They want to be sure. Elaborate plans might be more likely to fail than simple ones just because they’re that much harder to get right, but that’s the wrong way to look at that. Getting suicide of all things right is the psychological necessity. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/6 "2008-04-19T21:16:14Z")
Did Elliot Smith not end his life in a similar fashion? ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/7 "2008-04-19T21:25:06Z")
How about Hari Kari? Didn’t they stab themselves in the abdomen to suicide? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/8 "2008-04-19T21:44:22Z")
[QUOTE=MLS] How about Hari Kari? Didn’t they stab themselves in the abdomen to suicide? [/QUOTE] You mean hara kiri. That was a ritualized suicide, and it wasn’t a stab to the heart; it was an evisceration. And since “true” hara kiri was an honor thing, a friend could be available to lop your head off after you successfully laid your intestines in your lap, thus putting an end to an otherwise highly-painful and not-particularly-quick death. ---
**Author:** ![Hellestal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hellestal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hellestal)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/9 "2008-04-19T21:44:43Z")
[QUOTE=MLS] How about Hari Kari? Didn’t they stab themselves in the abdomen to suicide? [/QUOTE] It’s actually spelled hara-kiri. And no, that’s not how it works, at least not according to an iaido instructor I talked with one time. This is a little gross, so I’ll spoiler-box it, but it’s actually a disembowelment. Seppuku is done by creating a doorway out of your belly. Essential, you slice three times, creating three edges of a rectangle. The last edge of the rectangle is a flap that swings open from the pressure of your innards as they make their way onto the floor. So it’s not a stab so much as three cuts that only need to be deep enough allow your belly to empty itself. I have no idea how deep the cuts would have to be, but this is still far different from stabbing yourself. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/10 "2008-04-19T21:52:30Z")
Wouldn’t stabbing yourself in, say, the jugular result in a rather rapid demise? If you start bleeding from one of the major arteries or veins, isn’t death pretty much a given within a matter of minutes? …Or has Hollywood lied to me, again? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/11 "2008-04-19T21:58:26Z")
> [@Chicago](#): > > He ran into my knife… he ran into my knife ten times [Link.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoCZEmfnE-M) ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/12 "2008-04-19T22:05:44Z")
[QUOTE=NinjaChick] Wouldn’t stabbing yourself in, say, the jugular result in a rather rapid demise? If you start bleeding from one of the major arteries or veins, isn’t death pretty much a given within a matter of minutes? [/QUOTE] I think you’d be looking for more of a slice than a stab. It would be too easy to miss if you stabbed. But take another look at what **Exapno Mapcase** wrote. I doubt if someone committing suicide really wants to go out in a panic, trying to stop the bleeding because he or she changed her mind and just freaked out. Sure, it doesn’t take long, but I don’t think it would be a very happy exit. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/13 "2008-04-19T23:56:11Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] The only person I’ve heard of who actually did this was disgraced Queens borough President [Donald Manes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Manes). He did it when he was put on hold on the telephone. By his psychiatrist. You cannot make that shit up. [/QUOTE] And three years later his brother tried to do it the same way, but lived. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/14 "2008-04-20T00:11:05Z")
[QUOTE=NinjaChick] Wouldn’t stabbing yourself in, say, the jugular result in a rather rapid demise? If you start bleeding from one of the major arteries or veins, isn’t death pretty much a given within a matter of minutes? …Or has Hollywood lied to me, again? [/QUOTE] Lied to again. The major veins are pretty deep, as are the arteries. And you’d need to take out a major vein to be sure of dying from blood loss rapidly. The external jugular wouldn’t do it with any great speed or guarantee. Do an artery, and the odds improve a bit. But arteries are muscular, and tend to spasm, so it’s no rapid slam-dunk either, unless you puncture a really major one. Bleeding is pretty damn messy, too. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/15 "2008-04-20T00:18:07Z")
Falling on one’s sword has been a traditional suicide since Roman times, at least. The key is to position the blade and let gravity rather then your own strength do the work. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/16 "2008-04-20T00:22:44Z")
[QUOTE=Kendall Jackson] This is a little gross, so I’ll spoiler-box it, but it’s actually a disembowelment. [/QUOTE] I’s not quite as your write it: you would typically go across and up to form a sort of cross. One important and relevant technical point about _seppuku_ (_hara-kiri_) is that you’re supposed to push the handle with the palm of your left hand. This is because your muscles will tense up so much that it will be very difficult to plunge the blade in. Apparently many cases of amateur _seppuku_ end up with people slicing their palm as their right hand slips off the handle. Another case of suicide by stabbing was the lead signer of the Québec band Les Colocs, [Dédé Fortin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9d%C3%A9_Fortin). ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/17 "2008-04-20T00:48:40Z")
How to threads on suicide technique strike me as a very very bad idea, even if the participants themselves are not contemplating suicide. Tris ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/18 "2008-04-20T01:08:21Z")
The OP forgot to add that this is for a character in a book he’s writing. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/19 "2008-04-20T01:14:37Z")
[QUOTE=Triskadecamus] How to threads on suicide technique strike me as a very very bad idea, even if the participants themselves are not contemplating suicide. Tris [/QUOTE] As a moderator, I can appreciate your position. It boils down to a question of judgement, and I tend to let these moral questions run. I _have_ shut down a thread in the past where it was more obvious that the OP _was possibly_ contemplaing suicide. **samclem** GQ moderator ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/20 "2008-04-20T01:21:10Z")
It’s happened by (rather dumb) accident as well: > **[2005 Darwin Award: Failed Frame-Up](https://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2005-04.html)** > > Darwin Award: Failed Frame-Up: 'Unusual' and 'complicated' is how the Missaukee County sheriff described the mysterious death of 19-year-old Christopher, who called 911 at 1:22am and calmly informed the police dispatcher that his neighbor had sta > [@](#): > > Deputies arrived quickly, but Christopher had already bled to death from self-inflicted stab wounds to his chest. An autopsy determined that he had stabbed himself in the chest twice. The first wound apparently didn’t look dangerous enough, so he tried again. The second time, the knife plunged into his left ventricle. This wound was plenty dangerous: he had only two minutes to live. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022.md?page=2)