What To Do If You Are Suicidal

Welcome to the most important page in my site. If you are reading this, it's probably because you are at the end of your rope and are ready to "cash in." Please don't do this just yet. If you've gone to the trouble of browsing to this page, at least read it all the way to the bottom. OK? I promise, you'll be glad you did.

Right now, I'm going to promise you this: I will not preach or lie to you. You deserve better than that.

First of all, I've been where you are. It may help for you to read about my experience with depression. But I want you to know this--although you probably feel completely and utterly alone, you are not. Millions of people have depression and you are by no means the first to feel this terrible nor will you be the last.

As I said, I won't preach. I won't tell you that life is sweet, just hang on, and all of that crap. It isn't necessarily true, and even if it were, you aren't buying it. The trouble is that your view of things is distorted. You won't believe that either--so I'm just going to ask you to take my word for it. For now, please just assume this is so and read on.

You are thinking about ending your life for a very simple reason: You can no longer cope with the stresses in your life. That's all there is to it. And you can't cope because the depression won't permit you to look for ways to cope. Rather than deal with problems, you assume you just "deserve" them, or something like that. But the fact is that problems, all problems, can be dealt with, but only if you take off the blinders of depression and look for those solutions.

Understand this, no-one upon no-one in this world "deserves" problems or unpleasantness. Harmful or unpleasant events cannot think. They do not pick you for some inexplicable reason. They simply happen. There is no reason for it. Bad things simply "happen"--period. You are not a factor in why they happen. You just happen to be there when they do.

I know you don't believe it, but your life is not over. It is just beginning, if you want it to. You see, you are in charge of your life. At the moment, you simply have lost direction and see no way out. All you have to do is accept that you are not in control and are not seeing things as they are. Admit this and ask for help.

Your pain is unbearable. You can't imagine living one more day this way. I know. And you probably think that your pain is spilling over onto others. Better to end your life now and spare everyone else this awful pain that you can no longer stand--right? Wrong! If you end your life, all you will do is spread your pain around, not eliminate it. The people who love you (and there are some, even if you don't think so) will mourn you for the rest of their lives. They will wonder why you did it, how they could have helped you, what way they failed you, or even why you chose to do this to them.

You see, you won't spare those who love you a lifetime of pain. You'll be inflicting one on them! Don't do it!

Right now, stop what you are doing, and call for help. Call a friend, clergyman, doctor, crisis line, or even just dial 9-1-1 if you can think of no-one else. Listen to what they say--whoever it is--and allow them to help you. You are in no shape to make decisions right now.

You've lived with the pain long enough. It's time to let someone help you with it. Please do it now, before you make a mistake that someone else will mourn for the rest of their lives.

Please.

The National Hopeline Network 1-800-SUICIDE provides access to trained telephone counselors, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Or for a crisis center in your area, go here.

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