# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/21 "2008-04-20T01:56:16Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] **shigyu** –do you need help? Are you alone? Do you need to talk to somebody? Stabbing yourself is a very bad idea! [/QUOTE] [Moderating] **Bosda,** we appreciate your concern, but please try expressing it without the use of size-7 font. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/22 "2008-04-20T02:12:23Z")
> **[Steven Jesse Bernstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Jesse_Bernstein)** > > Steven Jay "Jesse" Bernstein (December 4, 1950 – October 22, 1991) was an American underground writer and performance artist. He remains famous for his recordings with Sub Pop records and close relationship with William S. Burroughs. Bernstein's substance abuse issues and mental illness contributed to his provocative local celebrity, though they ultimately culminated in his suicide. > Bernstein was born in Los Angeles, California. His substance abuse issues began as the aftermath of his stay in th... if you are determined enough and or high/crazy enough then I dont really see it being that much of a problem. the problem would be being that determined or high in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/23 "2008-04-20T02:49:31Z")
[QUOTE=An Gadaí] Did Elliot Smith not end his life in a similar fashion? [/QUOTE] Yes. The man was depressed. Probably the heroin wasn’t helping matters. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/24 "2008-04-20T03:32:56Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] 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. [/QUOTE] I’ve heard (from an EMS worker) that this type of suicide also fails because people cut \*across \*the wrists, rather than down the length of the blood vessels. Is this true? ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/25 "2008-04-20T06:02:23Z")
[QUOTE=shigyu] 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? [/QUOTE] It would be very difficult. The reason being is that the person has decided that there are no more links to life and that death is the only solution. It would be difficult because the victim would have to decide that this course of action would be the only acceptable solution. It would also mean that the victim had no one to contact to get a sounding board. The victim would have to believe that not a single poster to this board would respond to a PM. Of course, if this is all hypothetical, then disregard the post. SSG Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/26 "2008-04-20T16:06:26Z")
There was a freak accident perhaps a month ago in Anderson when a father was making lunch for his two young sons and cutting noodles in a pan with a steak knife. He burned himself, jerked back, and stabbed himself in the heart. He died on the phone with 911, with the little boys still there. Also, in the recent case with the missing couple from Atlanta at Hilton Head, the suspect financial guy sliced his femoral artery and also stabbed himself in the chest a couple times. There was some suspicion of foul play in the newspaper because of that (it’s kind of a weird way to kill yourself) but I never heard any more about it, so one assumes it was legit. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/27 "2008-04-20T17:02:19Z")
A friend is visiting (from Beaverton, Oregon – haven’t seen him for 15 years!) . I don’t know how we got to the subject, but he told me about a friend who killed himself by cutting his throat. The medical examiner said it took at least three tries, three deep cuts. ---
**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 21, 2008, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/28 "2008-04-21T12:23:36Z")
If we are including throat slashing, let’s not forget SNL’s[Charles Rocket](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rocket#Death). I wonder if after he did it he said “Fuck” ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/29 "2008-04-21T12:56:28Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] 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. [/QUOTE] What about a deep slice in the inner thigh to the femoral artery and vein ? I have read (sorry, forgot the source) that this can cause you to bleed to death in under 2 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/30 "2008-04-21T13:02:14Z")
deleted duplicate ---
**Author:** ![shigyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@shigyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shigyu)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/31 "2008-04-24T00:07:15Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] Well as anyone who’s seen Pulp Fiction knows, you have to go through the breastplate to do so. [/QUOTE] Yeah, what was that all about? I’ve never heard a reference to an anatomical “breastplate”. (not killing myself, just academic) ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/32 "2008-04-24T00:37:17Z")
[QUOTE=jovan] 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. [/QUOTE] Apparently, the pain was often unbearable, and not many were able to do much of the ritual. From what I’ve read, a surface cut on the abdomen was sufficient before the second was allowed to lop off the head. ---
**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 24, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/33 "2008-04-24T01:10:09Z")
[QUOTE=Cosmic Relief] What about a deep slice in the inner thigh to the femoral artery and vein ? I have read (sorry, forgot the source) that this can cause you to bleed to death in under 2 minutes. [/QUOTE] If you manage to hit it, it can be fatal. But it’s a deep target, most folks don’t have the will to stab themselves that deeply, nor the will to keep fishing around for the right structures if they don’t get it on the first thrust, nor is it a sure thing that you’ll die if you it hit (but it’d be the way to bet). Now, if someone else is committed to severing your femoral artery and vein with a sharp knife, then you’re in some serious trouble! ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/34 "2008-04-24T01:14:01Z")
[QUOTE=TokyoPlayer] Apparently, the pain was often unbearable, and not many were able to do much of the ritual. From what I’ve read, a surface cut on the abdomen was sufficient before the second was allowed to lop off the head. [/QUOTE] In later times, when _seppuku_ was more a method of execution than anything else, a fan was sometimes used instead of a sword. ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/35 "2008-04-24T02:33:10Z")
[QUOTE=jovan] Apparently many cases of amateur _seppuku_ end up with people slicing their palm as their right hand slips off the handle. [/QUOTE] Amateur seppuku? Are we to infer there are professionals??!! :eek: Whatever they’re paid, it’s not enough. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/36 "2008-04-24T06:38:44Z")
[QUOTE=The Sonoran Lizard King] Amateur seppuku? Are we to infer there are professionals??!! :eek: Whatever they’re paid, it’s not enough. [/QUOTE] Well, I doubt anyone ever listed _seppuku_ artist as a profession. However, back when this practice was a bit more common, people who were likely to run in a situation where it might be needed to slice yourself up did train in the proper way to do it. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/37 "2008-04-24T06:54:14Z")
[QUOTE=shigyu] Yeah, what was that all about? I’ve never heard a reference to an anatomical “breastplate”. [/QUOTE] (I’ve always wanted to say this) [The Master Speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050218.html) ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/38 "2008-04-24T14:13:54Z")
[QUOTE=jovan] Well, I doubt anyone ever listed _seppuku_ artist as a profession. However, back when this practice was a bit more common, people who were likely to run in a situation where it might be needed to slice yourself up did train in the proper way to do it. [/QUOTE] There have been questions to how common _seppuku_ was, either professionally or not. If a person were sick, then they weren’t expected to perform the ceremony. Some people managed to be sick for quite some time, which then effectively became a house arrest. As my mother used to say, if you’re sick enough you can’t go to school, then you’re sick enough you can’t go out and play. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/39 "2008-04-24T16:58:30Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] 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) [/QUOTE] Actually, it’s esophageal pain, and it’s not called that because people don’t know where their hearts are, it’s called that because the nerves in the viscera are pretty bad at localizing pain. So the pain can be referred to other areas, including the cardiac region. ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022/40 "2008-04-24T21:17:04Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Falling on one’s sword has been a traditional suicide since Roman times, at least. [/QUOTE] Actually since at least [1000 BCE](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Samuel%2031:3-5;&version=47;). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022.md?page=3)