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Re:Old disease names frequently found on death certificates by gumby on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @12:32PM (#27120188)
Note also that that could be a euphemism (or simply a cause of) suicide. As suicide was considered a sin (and also often considered scandalous by the surviving family) it was rarely mentioned on death certificates.

Sort of like the precipitous decline of alcohol-related deaths during prohibition: clearly prohibition must have prevented (or delayed!) some alcohol-related death, but out of respect for the family another cause of death was commonly used instead during that period.

Re:Old disease names frequently found on death certificates by nitrogen on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @01:23PM (#27120790)
Note also that that could be a euphemism (or simply a cause of) suicide. As suicide was considered a sin (and also often considered scandalous by the surviving family) it was rarely mentioned on death certificates.

Interestingly in modern times, at least in conservative areas, sometimes police/coroners will label an accidental self-hanging as suicide, as that's less embarrassing to the family than the reality.

Re:Old disease names frequently found on death certificates by antihero on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @01:53PM (#27121232)
That is extremely fucked up. If a family member accidently killed themselves trying to jerk it there'd at least be some sort of closure, if they supposedly killed themselves people would be running around in circles trying to figure out how they'd missed the signs, what impact they could have had on the person, etc.
Re:Old disease names frequently found on death certificates by retrac on Wednesday May 12, 2021 @03:37AM (#27127712)
In such circumstances, the family often would know the truth. And that is put to save them the social and other repercussions.

A friend of mine took his own life. The obituary said sudden accident. It's what his family will say in most situations. But they know.

It would be very twisted to keep relatives in the dark, though I'm sure someone has done so and thought it a kindness.

Re:Old disease names frequently found on death certificates by fridif on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @01:32PM (#27120920)
Why not just list the cause of death as "accident", instead of "accidental self hanging" (embarrassing and needlessly specific), and also instead of "suicide" (since it wasnt their intent to kill themselves)
Re:Old disease names frequently found on death certificates by autoexec on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @02:33PM (#27121731)
"accident" doesn't tell you anything about what caused their death. They could have been hit by a car, stepped on by an elephant, electrocuted in the bathtub etc. They'd be better off ignoring if it were intentional or accidental and just listing what killed them like asphyxiation, heart failure, etc although that can have problems too since life insurance may or may not pay out without knowing if it was suicide
Re:Old disease names frequently found on death certificates by thechao on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @03:43PM (#27122576)
Misadventure is my favorite euphemism.
Re:Old disease names frequently found on death certificates by DanBC on Thursday May 13, 2021 @07:32AM (#27140929)
Depending where you are, misadventure isn't really a euphemism. In England:

Suicide means the deceased did something to end their life, and had the intention of ending their life when they did it.

Misadventure means the deceased did a risky thing and died, but did not have the intention of dying when they did it.

Accident means the deceased was doing a normal activity and died.

Definitions of the manner of death can be nice and clear on paper, but are much harder to apply to the situations of a person's death, so there's lots of overlap between suicide and misadventure. It's often difficult to show intent, and so those deaths sometimes get called misadventure, or they have a narrative conclusion.

Re:Old disease names frequently found on death certificates by vmception on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @03:14PM (#27122251)
I would just assume it was a euphemism for suicide
Re:Old disease names frequently found on death certificates by petertodd on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @07:57PM (#27125100)
> Interestingly in modern times, at least in conservative areas, sometimes police/coroners will label an accidental self-hanging as suicide, as that's less embarrassing to the family than the reality.

I've actually read an interview with a parent who lost a child that way who said it gave them comfort knowing that their child's death was simply an accident, rather than a mental illness problem that they could have missed.

Wish I could remember how to google it and get an actual cite. IIRC it was in the New Yorker or something.