Have you ever thought about committing suicide, and if you had, what stopped you from attempting to do it?

There was a time in my life when I thought about it constantly.. I was just never dumb enough to think it would solve anything. All it would do is cause more pain to other people. That’s not fair to them.

Life is the greatest gift we’ll ever have.. throwing it away for any reason is illogical.

Nothing stopped me. I tried and failed. It was long ago and I wanted to “punish” my family for not seeing how much pain I was in. I worked for a suicide hot line for several years, to help people to see that even the worst times will pass. Suicide is a permanent solution for a temporary problem, the wrong solution.

I have been suicidal many times in my life. On the actual verge of doing it, just once many years ago. I still don’t really know what stopped me, but I do know that I am so glad I didn’t do it. I’ve said it before, but here it is again… The thing to remember is that it always gets better. ALWAYS.

@augustlan Well put, well put.

Yes, I use to a lot because my life was so immune to being messed up I was close to it when I thought about all the good things in life. I just took out paper and a pencil and started jotting down everything I’m thankful for and how more it would mess up my siblings lives. If you ever get mad about something its a good technique to do just write everything or everyone that makes you happy.

Oh and I would miss my cat way to much

Yes I have contemplated suicide. Every time it was the thought of leaving my children without a mom that stopped me from doing it. Now that I have come out of the abyss I realize that yarnlady and augustlan are absolutely right, it is the wrong solution and things will always get better.

There was two times and the first time I didn’t because I was too panicky and too anxious and would probably fail…the second time, people watched me 24/7 until I was medicated and better…never wanted to kill myself since those two times…

I recently had suicidal thoughts. Recently like about ten days ago. It came to my mind unbidden, and the chance to act on that thought was RIGHT THERE, all I had to do was take one step forward. Simple as that. BOOM.

I didn’t do it because I don’t think suicide is an option, except in extreme circumstances. I also didn’t do it because I hesitated and missed the chance. The fact is, the thought came out of the blue, just straight out of nowhere. that episode changed my outlook on my recent comments to a question in this category awhile back on fluther, if any one remembers my answer on that one, I was wrong.

Anyway, I went to my doctor, was diagnosed with depression, got a nice batch of pills to straighten my head around, and I don’t have those thoughts anymore. Scary shit, suicidal thoughts.

Then a friend gave me some good advice. “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.”

There are always just one or two people who I care about enough to keep me going. I’d rather keep on with my own misery, rather than cause them pain by killing myself.

Guilt I think

What stopped me was two people—one, a friend with depression who understood, and who would engage my darkest thoughts with her darkest thoughts, until we had to laugh.

Everyone kept saying I should live for my kids, and I wanted to, except I thought I was hurting them by being alive. I thought the same about my wife. But she convinced me she actually loved me, and that brought me back.

I had a relapse here and there—one of those sudden, “hey, that would be a good thing to do” kind of thing, but they were transient. Just some kind of weird artifact of my mind.

All my life, I loved life. I thought it was the greatest gift, and I knew I would never throw it away. What I didn’t count on we turning into a manic-depressive person. I had no idea. I am so grateful for all those pills. For they, too, kept me alive. But it’s so scary, because it could come back again at any time, like a sneak attack. I’ve been fine one minute, and dropped deep into a depression in a day, and then come back out of it in three days, or one day. So unpredictable.

I’ve thought about it, But would NEVER be able to do it nor will I try. When problems come around I push them away I think positive nothing can bring me down. Life is beautiful and you never know when it’s your time to go, so do what you can while you have time.

If I were in the late stages of something incurable that would mean a nasty and messy end, loaded with misery for my family as well as for me, I would take the necessary steps to end it while I still had the strength and ability to act on my own.

When i was in grade school myself and my freinds would think of ways i could possibly kill myself. I don’t think i could ever do it for a number of reasons.I’m not a religious person at all, but part of me thinks, what if i am wrong and what if there is a hell i’ll burn in forever haha. The other part is how it will effect my family. Most importantly i still have many things i want to experience and do in life. Not to mention that ever where you look theres something amazing going on,no matter how small it is.

During my 7years on an ambulance I came in contact with many people who “thought about suicide”. Here are some generalizations: mostly Sunday nights, males did it for keeps, females left a chance, males did not call a friend before, females called to say goodbye and then OD’ed.
No matter what they did, successful or not, family and friends were hurt.
As were the ambulance and fire rescue crews….
If you think about it a lot. Get help. If not for yourself then for the people around you. You really do make a difference.
@Jeruba I’m with you 100%.

Not when you feel that utter pitch darkness. Believing that you matter to anyone or anything is impossible. It just seems like everyone would be better off if you were dead. It’s a horrible place to be, and just thinking about it brings it back and makes me so sad. Part of me wishes I had never been there, but part of me thinks I earned something there I could never have gotten anywhere else.

@daloon although I don’t want to share on this particular question (I just can’t). I will say I completely understand what you just said. That black abyss changes how everything looks, feels, tastes, and your feelings of importance or lack there of in the world.

@teirem1: It is very hard to share about this stuff, and I don’t know if I ought to, because every time I do, it brings some of it back. However, I have this theory that if I talk about it often enough, eventually it’ll get so it doesn’t affect me like that, as much. Remembering it is like playing with the proverbial fire. I have always felt that hiding feelings doesn’t work for me. Hiding feelings from myself, I mean. I don’t always show my feelings to others, and when I do, it’s usually in places like this, where no one knows who I am in real life. There are also two people in real life who I talk to; one, a friend who has been there, and she gets everything, and the other is my wife, who it is sometimes hard to talk to because she doesn’t get it.

@daloon Does your wife know you have the friend that gets you? Just curious.

yes

I did go through a time when I felt that way.

This may sound terribly strange, but the person who started my downward spiral
was also one of the main reasons that actually stopped me from doing so.

His mother had committed suicide when he was younger.
Knowing what he went through and the scars he still carried,
I really couldn’t bring myself to do that to him again.
Or to my friends and family.

I often joke that if I were to actually commit suicide,
I would first establish some elaborate trust that would
mail off occasional postcards to friends and family
assuring them that I was alive and well.

On a tropical island sipping Mai Tais is really code for I’ve decided to off myself.

Nimis, you have a plan for everything! :)

I have because of bullying, but I thought what destruction I would leave behind.