"Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it. The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning." |
Just because you feel suicidal does not mean that you really want to die - it only means that you have more pain than you can cope with right now. There are many kinds of pain that may lead to suicide. Whether or not the pain is bearable may differ from person to person. What might be bearable to someone else may not be bearable to you. The point at which the pain becomes unbearable depends on what kinds of coping resources you have. Individuals vary greatly in their capacity to withstand pain. When pain exceeds pain-coping resources, suicidal feelings are the result. Suicide is an imbalance of pain versus coping resources. You can survive suicidal
feelings if you: (1) find a way to reduce your pain, or (2) find a way to increase your coping resources. Both are possible. People do get through this -- even people who feel as badly as you are feeling now. Give yourself some distance. Say to yourself, “I will wait 24 hours before I do anything.” Or a week. Remember that feelings and actions are two different things - just because you feel like killing yourself, doesn’t mean that you have to actually do it right this minute. Put some distance between your suicidal feelings and suicidal action. Even if it’s just 24 hours. People often turn to suicide because
they are seeking relief from pain. Remember that relief is a feeling. And you have to be alive to feel it. You will not feel the relief you so desperately seek, if you are dead. Some people will react badly to your suicidal feelings, either because they are frightened, or angry; they may actually increase your pain instead of helping you, despite their intentions, by saying or doing thoughtless things. You have to understand that their bad reactions are about their fears, not about you . There are people out there who can be with you in this horrible time and will not judge you, or argue with you, or send you to a hospital, or try to talk you out of how badly you feel. They will simply care for you. CALL A HELPLINE NOW! |
Suicide happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain. |
State of Alaska helpline 1-800-784-2433
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According to the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey taken by LYSD students, high school students report 33% have seriously considered attempting suicide and 27% attempted suicide in the last year. 41% of middle school students have seriously considered killing themselves and 32% of students have attempted suicide in the past year. |
