--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Instead of committing suicide, people go…" description: "\"Instead of committing suicide, people go to work.\" — Thomas Bernhard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/thomas-bernhard-3514_committing-suicide_instead-of-committing-suicide-people-go_2928521.jpg" --- # Instead of committing suicide, people go to work. ![“Instead of committing suicide, people go to work.” quote by Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/thomas-bernhard-3514_committing-suicide_instead-of-committing-suicide-people-go_2928521.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/thomas-bernhard-3514_committing-suicide_instead-of-committing-suicide-people-go_2928521.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/thomas-bernhard-3514_committing-suicide_instead-of-committing-suicide-people-go_2928521.jpg) > “Instead of committing suicide, people go to work.” [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Work can feel like an escape from despair, highlighting the absurdity of using occupation as a coping mechanism. **In simple terms:** Work replaces suicidal thoughts. Key Takeaway Seek help beyond work. Themes mental health existentialism workplace Mood somber reflective critical Type philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - therapy sessions - employee assistance programs - support groups Key Concepts despair coping strategies Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives to work can help? - How does work mask deeper pain? A Different Perspective Work may not address underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Committing suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-suicide/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Instead Committing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instead-committing-4304700/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-work/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) [Suicide People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide-people-1680285/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Lifes a bitch committing suicide but the people know how much shes worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elijah-wade/lifes-a-bitch-committing-suicide-but-the-people-know-how-much-shes/) [Elijah Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elijah-wade/) > [How many teens need to commit suicide before people start realizing that cyber bullying and phrases like 'kill yourself' will never be okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/how-many-teens-need-to-commit-suicide-before-people-start-realizing/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience/) > [Of course, we know that not everyone agrees with assisted suicide, but people might agree that one has the right to it, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/of-course-we-know-that-not-everyone-agrees-with-assisted-suicide-but/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [In every crisis, people do not respond like a school of fish. Some people become immobilized. Some people become very angry, some commit suicide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/in-every-crisis-people-do-not-respond-like-a-school-of-fish-some/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [“So it was not, in fact, a suicide?” Vulture shook his head pensively. “It is a question of semantics. When a person spends a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariam-petrosyan/so-it-was-not-in-fact-a-suicide-vulture-shook-his-head-pensively-it/) [Mariam Petrosyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariam-petrosyan/) > [“If it was cancer or a heart condition that had killed Charlotte, people might have related to me better, because many people have lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marrs/if-it-was-cancer-or-a-heart-condition-that-had-killed-charlotte/) [John Marrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marrs/) > [Nothing in my life has ever made me want to commit suicide more than people's reaction to my trying to commit suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilie-autumn/nothing-in-my-life-has-ever-made-me-want-to-commit-suicide-more-than-2/) [Emilie Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emilie-autumn/) > [“The answer to these questions is tied to the public's attitude about suicide. For many people, suicide is morally reprehensible. It's against their religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bateson/the-answer-to-these-questions-is-tied-to-the-public-s-attitude-about/) [John Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bateson/) > [You know, people are dying, not only the 22 suicides a day which is inconceivable when you hear that. When I first heard that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-know-people-are-dying-not-only-the-22-suicides-a-day-which-is/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The society that destroys its children is eating its own tail, committing suicide in the most perverse way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-stone/the-society-that-destroys-its-children-is-eating-its-own-tail/) [Jennifer Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-stone/) > [And it would be a bit out of character. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may have started out as a reformer, but he really enjoys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kenyon/and-it-would-be-a-bit-out-of-character-president-recep-tayyip-erdogan/) [Peter Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kenyon/) > [Seems like the only kind of job an American can get these days is committing suicide in some way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/seems-like-the-only-kind-of-job-an-american-can-get-these-days-is/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Preventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/preventive-war-is-like-committing-suicide-out-of-fear-of-death/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [Committing suicide so as not to be murdered is the worst reason I've ever heard of to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/committing-suicide-so-as-not-to-be-murdered-is-the-worst-reason-i-ve/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [“Committing suicide essentially said to friends and loved ones and the world at large that you were the only thing that mattered, that your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-warren/committing-suicide-essentially-said-to-friends-and-loved-ones-and-the/) [Christine Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-warren/) ## More by Thomas Bernhard > [“He was the only world-famous piano virtuoso who abhorred his public and also actually withdrew definitively from this abhorred public.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/he-was-the-only-world-famous-piano-virtuoso-who-abhorred-his-public/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“A body needs at least three points of support, not in a straight line, to fix its position, so Roithamer had written.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/a-body-needs-at-least-three-points-of-support-not-in-a-straight-line/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“The essential elements of a person come to light only when we must regard him as lost to us, when everything he has done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/the-essential-elements-of-a-person-come-to-light-only-when-we-must/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [Lawyers make nothing but confusion...A lawyer is an instrument of the devil. In general, he's a fiendish idiot, banking on the stupidity of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/lawyers-make-nothing-but-confusion-a-lawyer-is-an-instrument-of-the/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“I know nothing about nature. I hate nature, because it is killing me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/i-know-nothing-about-nature-i-hate-nature-because-it-is-killing-me/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“The empty rooms always had a terribly depressing effect upon my father when he considered, he said, that the person who dwelt in them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/the-empty-rooms-always-had-a-terribly-depressing-effect-upon-my/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“Time destroys everything we do, whatever it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/time-destroys-everything-we-do-whatever-it-is/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“To wake up one day and be Steinway and Glen in One... Glen Steinway, Steinway Glen, all for Bach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/to-wake-up-one-day-and-be-steinway-and-glen-in-one-glen-steinway/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“It had always been impossible for me to write to him. Each time I would immediately become aware of the awkwardness of suddenly expressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/it-had-always-been-impossible-for-me-to-write-to-him-each-time-i/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [All my life I have had the utmost admiration for suicides. I have always considered them superior to me in every way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/all-my-life-i-have-had-the-utmost-admiration-for-suicides-i-have/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“I barricaded myself and stared out the window, without seeing anything but my own unhappiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/i-barricaded-myself-and-stared-out-the-window-without-seeing-anything/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [... Whatever condition we are in, we must always do what we want to do, and if we want to go on a journey,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/whatever-condition-we-are-in-we-must-always-do-what-we-want-to-do-and/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [Those are terrible people who don't like Glenn Gould... I will have nothing to do with such people, they are dangerous people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/those-are-terrible-people-who-don-t-like-glenn-gould-i-will-have/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [It would be wrong to refuse to face the fact that everything is fundamentally sick and sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/it-would-be-wrong-to-refuse-to-face-the-fact-that-everything-is/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“We publish only to satisfy out craving for fame; there's no other motive except the even baser one of making money…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/we-publish-only-to-satisfy-out-craving-for-fame-there-s-no-other/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) [Explore all 96 Thomas Bernhard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) ## More Committing suicide quotes > [“Committing suicide essentially said to friends and loved ones and the world at large that you were the only thing that mattered, that your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-warren/committing-suicide-essentially-said-to-friends-and-loved-ones-and-the/) [Christine Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-warren/) > [Committing suicide so as not to be murdered is the worst reason I've ever heard of to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/committing-suicide-so-as-not-to-be-murdered-is-the-worst-reason-i-ve/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [Preventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/preventive-war-is-like-committing-suicide-out-of-fear-of-death/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [Seems like the only kind of job an American can get these days is committing suicide in some way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/seems-like-the-only-kind-of-job-an-american-can-get-these-days-is/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [And it would be a bit out of character. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may have started out as a reformer, but he really enjoys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kenyon/and-it-would-be-a-bit-out-of-character-president-recep-tayyip-erdogan/) [Peter Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kenyon/) > [“ACTION WILL BE YOUR LEGACY “He who has a vehement desire for posthumous fame does not consider that every one of those who remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-eschenroeder/action-will-be-your-legacy-he-who-has-a-vehement-desire-for/) [Kyle Eschenroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-eschenroeder/) > [The society that destroys its children is eating its own tail, committing suicide in the most perverse way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-stone/the-society-that-destroys-its-children-is-eating-its-own-tail/) [Jennifer Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-stone/) > [A detective who uses his deductive powers to corner a suspect and then does nothing to stop them from committing suicide is no better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gosho-aoyama/a-detective-who-uses-his-deductive-powers-to-corner-a-suspect-and/) [Gosho Aoyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gosho-aoyama/) > [I think what we have seen in terms of gay teenagers committing suicide because of bullying is anguishing. I think young people, if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/i-think-what-we-have-seen-in-terms-of-gay-teenagers-committing/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [“…sense of futility that comes from doing anything merely to prove to yourself that you can do it: having a child, climbing a mountain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/sense-of-futility-that-comes-from-doing-anything-merely-to-prove-to/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [Once I was sitting by the side of the Ganges in Allahabad alone, in a very lonely spot, and I saw a man jump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaile-stewart/once-i-was-sitting-by-the-side-of-the-ganges-in-allahabad-alone-in-a/) [Kaile Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaile-stewart/) > [A society that produces suicide murderers in quantity is essentially committing its own suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haim-harari/a-society-that-produces-suicide-murderers-in-quantity-is-essentially/) [Haim Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haim-harari/) > [I hope degrading people makes you feel so damn good about yourself. Youre the reason why insecure girls are committing suicide. Shame on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hope-degrading-people-makes-you-feel-so-damn-good-about-yourself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You said I was the only person that stopped you from committing suicide. I asked you if you liked me back then...you said to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-said-i-was-the-only-person-that-stopped-you-from-committing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When someone isn't ready we must not try to force them out. People are being bullied and committing suicide because they're gay and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-martin/when-someone-isn-t-ready-we-must-not-try-to-force-them-out-people-are/) [Ricky Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-martin/) [Browse all 124 Committing suicide quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-suicide/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Instead of committing suicide, people go to work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Bernhard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/instead-of-committing-suicide-people-go-to-work/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Committing suicide" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/instead-of-committing-suicide-people-go-to-work/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/thomas-bernhard-3514_committing-suicide_instead-of-committing-suicide-people-go_2928521.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/thomas-bernhard-3514_committing-suicide_instead-of-committing-suicide-people-go_2928521.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/thomas-bernhard-3514_committing-suicide_instead-of-committing-suicide-people-go_2928521.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Instead of committing suicide, people go to work.” — Thomas Bernhard", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Bernhard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Instead of committing suicide, people go...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/instead-of-committing-suicide-people-go-to-work/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/instead-of-committing-suicide-people-go-to-work/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```