Committing suicide is often

seen as the "ultimately selfish" act.
So, what is a serious attempt that does not succeed? Is it "just a cry for help"? Is there any such thing as "just"? Surely it is far too serious for that?
I won't bother to try and answer the questions or discuss the issue but I do have something to say. I am saying it with the permission of the people involved.
Someone I know, although I do not know her well, made a serious attempt to take her own life yesterday.  I have only met this woman a few times but it distresses me.
We first met in 2018. She was looking for some help in reading a very complex pattern. She was making it for a family occasion. I helped her through reading the pattern because, although she had knitted lace before, she was used to making much smaller things in fine cotton. This was cobweb weight wool and Shetland style motifs - knitting that is an art form in itself.  
She finished the item and I helped her block it - something that took both of us the better part of a day to do. It was a job you really couldn't do alone and I was happy to help. Her daughter wore it on the occasion and then, as is the way of such things, went off to live in another country - the one they all came from originally.
And, naturally, this woman misses her daughter. She lives in a very isolated area of this state. There isn't a lot of female adult company and nobody else crafts quite the way she does. She is lonely and rather - perhaps very - shy.
So, I suggested she join a Facebook page. I thought it might be a way of having some virtual company. It wouldn't be face-to-face and she might find that easier. She was very hesitant but her husband and I both thought it was a good idea. So, she joined Facebook and she joined a group. But it may not have been the right group for her. It is not one of those relaxed, friendly and chatty groups she probably needs. Unfortunately I do not belong to the group so I couldn't be there to help her through the way things are done there. 
I am sure the people in the group are pleasant. I know some of them and I know they would never do anything to deliberately harm anyone. The problem with social media however is that it doesn't take much for people to make a mistake, misread something, misunderstand something or act without thinking.
The woman I am speaking of has apparently made some cautious contributions to the page. She has really tried to make it work for her - until a couple of days ago. Then she was told by the moderator of the group to take down a comment she had added to a perfectly innocuous post she had made. It meant taking down the entire post  because, to leave it there without the comment, gave an entirely false impression about who had written something. The comment made it clear who had written the words and given the permission to share. Without that it gave an entirely different impression about who had written it.
Other people might have tried to explain but, such is the nature of the group, this woman took it down. Due to the circumstances in which this occurred she contacted me by phone in tears. She had, so she told me, violated the rules of the group.
Now, as I said, I don't belong to the group. It's a "private" group but I can see the rules and I could see what she thought she had done. In fact she had not done anything to violate the rules of the group.
Because of the distress involved I contacted the moderator, someone I happen to know. Her response was that she was acting on the information available to her in the post. What she was actually doing was acting on what she believed was there. I have no doubt it was done quickly but in good faith. No malice was intended. It was a misunderstanding but one which has had very serious consequences.
It was simply the last small thing which was too much for this woman. Anyone else could perhaps have shrugged it off as "one of those annoying things which happens on social media". This woman made a serious attempt to take her own life. It may well be if it had not been this  thing it would have been the next thing because she has been under a lot of stress, far more than other people would be aware of or understand. 
What matters though is that one apparently small misunderstanding on the part of someone else has caused a major incident. It was in no way intentional, nor is that person in any way responsible. It  is just extremely unfortunate that it was apparently the trigger.
 However it has reminded me of how very careful we all need to be when we "post" a comment or "tweet" something. It is especially important right now when we are all  under some stress.
So, please be careful, be kind, be understanding. If you think you need to say something negative please make sure you have understood what the writer intended....and please remind me quietly if I don't do the same.