SO GOOD QUOTES

A source of spiritual death, despair can also lead a man to suicide: inciting him to no longer expect anything from life, it implants ideas of suicide in his soul and prompts him to accomplish them. In explaining this matter, St. John Chrysostom maintained the possibility of a demonic influence, but stressed that it was not the only cause, as he wished to once again insist on the responsibility of the individual himself. ‘These baneful thoughts’ he wrote to Stagirius, do not only come from the demon; your own melancholy is also very much to blame. Yes, indeed, this dark sadness even more than the evil spirit provokes these thoughts, and perhaps they are the only cause. It is certain that some individuals, quite apart from any demonic obsession, suffer from this mania for suicide after excessive suffering.

Mental Disorders & Spiritual Healing: Teachings from the Early Christian East
Jean-Claude Larchet