What are the differences between egoistic, altruistic and anomic suicide?

Look up three famous

people who have committed suicide and the reasons they did this (either what you find about
them or what you think the reason was). Which type of suicide did each commit (based on the
chapter)? Do you know anyone who has committed suicide? How did this affect their family?
How did this affect you? If you don't know anyone, imagine how you might feel. Can you think
of something we can do to help prevent suicides, particularly for young people?

According to Emile Durkheim, there are many reasons a person can commit suicide; many
of these reasons are novel the general population, who may think depression and mental
illness are the primary reasons for committing suicide. Durkheim first cites egoistic suicide,
which is a type of suicide committed by individuals who do not feel attached to a group.
These individuals can feel less integrated with society. Durkheim uses unmarried
individuals, as well as those that align with the Protestant sect of Christianity, as examples
of people who would fall into this category. The second type of suicide presented is
altruistic suicide. In this type, the value of the group is placed much higher than the value of
the individual, and thus individuals perceive their lives as inconsequential. There are many
cultures that Durkheim points to in order to show individuals that may commit this type of
suicide; one such example is kamikaze pilots in World War II. The last type of suicide
Durkheim defines is anomic suicide. This is the suicide most Western people think of; it
appears to occur in people who feel they are pursuing goals that no longer have meaning.
With this type of suicide, this can occur in times of hardship, whether it be social, economic,
or familial, or by a traumatic events in which the established status quo of an individual is
changed.

When I was in high school, there was a girl in one of my classes who committed suicide.
About a month prior to her taking her life, I briefly interviewed her for an article in the
yearbook. I did not know the girl personally, and had not spoken to her outside of that
interview, but I had a close friend who had dated her earlier in high school. He was
devastated, and I know that he couldnt help but feel responsible, at least in part, even
though he knew he was not responsible. I attended the funeral with my friend, and the
people who spoke at the funeral were overcome with emotions; the girls sister couldnt
finish the poem she had written. I know that I felt a lot of emotions that day, even without
knowing her, because the topic of suicide is extremely upsetting, especially with a girl so
young. Moreover, what is more disheartening is that I think these suicides can be
prevented. There is a large flaw with society in that they stigmatize mental illness and
therapy; this causes people to feel like they cannot get help for any negative feelings that
they may have. Many people can get help before it is too late, as was the case for the girl at
my high school. In young people, there can be more options that seem actually accessible
for counseling, more than just the counselors at my high school who were more concerned
with getting students into the best colleges possible. If people start to approach mental
health problems as regular and not a hindering issue, then people will be more likely to
seek help when they feel that they need it.