Yes, I could say that is true, especially in cultures that are based more on honor than ours is, such as maybe Japan. People may commit an act that causes them shame, or someone in their family committed an act that brought shame upon their family. In this instance, a person might commit suicide and depression is not necessarily a factor. It might be considered more honorable to die than to bear this shame. There was a time in Japan that a parent-child suicide took place on the average of one per day. If the parent survived the attempt but the children did not, the parent was treated as an object of sympathy. If the parent died and the child(ren) lived, the parents are regarded with derision for leaving their children as a burden to someone else. This is diametrically opposed to how our culture would respond to these situations.

People might also commit suicide to escape consequences. Take the case of Leonard Lake and Charles Ng [serial killers]. Leonard Lake was apprehended by the police for something totally unrelated to serial killing or murder but he pulled out two cyanide caplets that were glued to his shirt collar and ate them immediately. The police were mystified by this and dug deeper into it and found out what Lake and Ng had been doing. Adolf Hitler committed suicide for the same reason: to evade capture. Many criminals do this. It is more acceptable to die than to be caught. This is not the result of depression. It is more of a “last laugh” type of thing.