how can i stop being suicidal?

@olliegrace

If you or someone else here on 7 Cups are in a crisis please refer to this link: link to the 7 Cups crisis page. We wish for you to gain the most appropriate support to help you at these times and you are always welcome to come back and talk to a listener when you are not in a crisis.

@olliegrace Hi Ollie!

Yes, that's why we're here. As our depression community's description says, "We all help each other through the darkness."

Being super depressed all the time is usually an illness that doctors and therapists know how to treat. You wrote that you don't know what to do any more. Well, if you have an illness then seeing a doctor is what to do.

You can get support for depression here at 7 Cups, but you cannot get medical advice or treatment here. You can only get medical advice and treatment by seeing a doctor.

When you are depressed, thoughts of suicide are usually a side effect of the depression. Most people who have thoughts of suicide are not in crisis and never harm themselves. Those thoughts can be expected to go away when you get treatment for your depression. If you ever do feel you might harm yourself, then we have a crisis page with more information about that.

If you'd ever like to chat about all this, just click on my profile picture and message me.

Charlie

@olliegrace

I'm sorry to hear that you are having suicidal thoughts. I think the answer you're looking for is more complex than just a straightforward answer. What has helped me is a combination of different things:

Step 1) Talk to a professional - A professional can help guide you towards the right path. I would suggest talking to a pychiatrist but if you don't have one you can talk to your family doctor. Your doctor can help you find a phychiatrist.

Step 2) Start counselling/ start therapy- Talk therapy can go a long way. Sometimes, all people need is to talk to someone and/or do some therapy exercises. If you can't afford counselling services, you can ask a listener to be a long term listener for you here on 7 Cups. Obviously, a professional counselor has more to offer but 7 Cups is somewhere to start.

Step 3) Track your mood and journal - It is important to track your mood so you can look back and see how your feeling throughout the week. Does your mood change or stay the same? Journalling can help you understand yourself better. You can start by asking these questions: What emotions do you have today? If there are any negative emotions, what has triggered them today?

Step 4) Keep yourself busy - Distractions can be used when you are feeling very low or having bad thoughts. You can do a hobby, or something as simple as eating your favourite food and watching TV.

Step 5) Seek help if the thougths get worse - There are many crisis lines you can call. This can be used if you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or any bad thoughts.

Step 6) Set short term goals - This is very important because I know for a fact that depression makes you stay in bed all day everyday. By making short term goals, you can work towards something. It can be something as simple as making the bed or taking a shower, or you can do bigger goals like finishing a painting or starting school. I would suggest to start small because it is easy to get overwhelemed.

HOW TO MAKE SMART GOALS

Specific - Is this goal general or specific? Try to make your goal as detailed and specific as possible.

Measurable - Is this goal better measured by a yes or no (can I climb this mountain, yes) or is there a measurement involved (such as a goal of 80% on a test). Both of these options are good.

Attainable and reasonable - Can this goal be achieved or are the standards too high?

Timely - Is there a time that you want this to be completed by?

I hope this helps. If you want to contact me go to my profile https://www.7cups.com/@sellistens , pm me and let me know it's you

xoxo,

sel

Music helps alottt....

I was diagnosed with major clinical depression about 10 years ago. I spent 3 months in such a deep, dark, sad place. I sought help and received it and I have been taking an anti-depressant ever since. I also have Fibromyalgia and insomnia. I began self-medicating with alcohol a few years ago - 3 or 4. I don't know if I am an alcoholic. I do not drink everyday or even every week, it just seems that when I do drink, I tend to over do it. I lost my job in October 2020 with a 6 month severance package (I am an HR professional.) I had a very good interview for a job last week, and was feeling confident. However, I got the "Thaks, but no thanks," letter yesterday. My daughter and two grandchildren live with me. Her and I had a pretty horrible fight Tuesday night (I had been drinking) and now her and my other daughter, I believe are giving up on me. When I got the letter about not getting the job, it sort of put me over the edge (with everything else going on and for the first time in years, the thought of suicide entered my mind. It was like a gut punch. I did something at that point that I now regret, however it was what I needed to do to feel safe. Because my daughter is not talking to me right now, I took my sleeping pill to go to bed, but then gave the bottle of pills to my granddaughter (16 years old) to keep me safe. I have apologized to her this morning, that I put her in that position, but she understood...her mother (my daughter) also suffers from depression. Anyhow, there is so much more, but the suicidal thought scared the hell out of me. I am not having those thoughts today, but just knowing I did last night is frightening. When I was in the throes of the depression 10 years ago, and went to a mental health facility, I did not have to be admitted, because, although, the thoughts were there, I could say, I was confident I wouldn't do anything because I would not put my children through that; I feel the same today. Thank you for listening.