Suicide Help & Depression Support

The best way out... is always through. This page is to help people who are planning suicide and those who are trying to help a suicidal person to live.

Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain.  When pain exceeds pain-coping resources, suicidal feelings are the result. That’s all it’s about.

You are not a bad person, or crazy, or weak, or flawed, because you feel suicidal. It doesn’t even mean that you really want to die - it only means that you have more pain than you can cope with right now.

Suicide is not a solution, it is an end before a solution can be found. It cannot be considered an option, for an option denotes we have a choice and death robs us of both, option and choice. Death is an irreversible act that does not end the pain, for it remains in those who are left behind.

Even people who are totally alone, and take their own lives, transfer their pain to those of us in society who do care, and we do - care!

Depression is a killer. It takes away all the enthusiasm and fun from peoples lives, and makes suicide seem a viable choice. If this is where you are, please get professional help (talk to your doctor or someone at a suicide hotline now. The most common cause of suicide in the USA is Undiagnosed Depression. You must get help. No one can read your mind and subtle hints will not save you.

The reason that hints do not work is because those close to you do not want to believe you would kill yourself, and because they can't know how desperate you are. You must take an active role in saving your own life. Do something! Your life will be better for it, but you must act.

Many people find that talking about their feelings can alleviate their distress. If you're feeling in distress or suicidal now and need to talk to someone, there IS immediate help. Below, you can find a crisis hotline near you, learn more about suicidal feelings, or get depression support via CHAT and EMAIL. Suicide is neither wrong nor right; it is not a defect of character; it is morally neutral. It is simply an imbalance of pain versus coping resources. You do not have to be suicidal to contact us. We will not judge you if you want to call, chat or write.

Time is the one thing we are all born with, for better or worse. Don't waste it waiting for anyone or any thing. Every moment you spend wishing it away is a moment wasted. Sitting still waiting for the universe to come hand-deliver your dreams is not glamorous, it's not romantic, it's a waste of the only true currency that's worth spending in a world made of distractions and easy ways out, and deep down we all know it. Get busy building your own world, or the world will get busy dismantling you (and it cares nothing for your romantic notions of waiting in the rain for something that will never arrive unless you go after it).

Below you will find short and simple answers to some of the most common questions about suicide, philosophical discussion about understanding depression, human behavior, and the quest for the meaning of life.

learn more

 

THE BEST WAY OUT IS ALWAYS, THROUGH

"We cannot solve problems at the same level of thinking at which they were created. " Albert Einstein

I have NO DOUBT there have been many roadblocks, potholes, and detours on your journey through life. It is certainly true for me! Before you read further, please take a moment to relax, listen to, and watch our inspirational reminder to you.

Sometimes we just have to hang on while the storms blow through. And that's what this little 2 minute movie is all about...the amazing power of persistence!

Just click here to watch.
 

If You Are In Crisis or Thinking Of Suicide Please Read This First

Note from a a suicide survivor


Suicide is not a solution,
Suicide is an end...
Before a solution is found.
 

Suicidal? feeling you can't cope? - we won't won't judge, we will listen.

If you are feeling suicidal now, please stop long enough to read this. It will only take a few minutes. I do not want to talk you out of your bad feelings. I am not a mental health professional - only someone who knows what it is like to be in pain.

I don’t know who you are, or why you are reading this page. I only know that for the moment, you’re reading it, and that is good. I can assume that you are here because you are troubled and considering ending your life. If it were possible, I would prefer to be there with you at this moment, to sit with you and talk, face to face and heart to heart. But since that is not possible, we will have to make do with this.

I have known some people who have wanted to kill themselves, and one who did, so I have some small idea of what you might be feeling. I know that you might not be up to reading a long book, so I am going to keep this short. While we are together here for the next five minutes, I have five simple, practical things I would like to share with you. I won’t argue with you about whether you should kill yourself. But I assume that if you are thinking about it, you feel pretty bad.

Well, you’re still reading, and that’s very good. I’d like to ask you to stay with me for the rest of this page. I hope it means that you’re at least a tiny bit unsure, somewhere deep inside, about whether or not you really will end your life. Often people feel that, even in the deepest darkness of despair.

Being unsure about dying is okay and normal. The fact that you are still alive at this minute means you are still a little bit unsure. It means that even while you want to die, at the same time some part of you still wants to live. So let’s hang on to that, and keep going for a few more minutes.

Start by re-considering this statement:

“Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain.”

 If I start piling weights on your shoulders, you will eventually collapse if I add enough weights... no matter how much you want to remain standing. Willpower has nothing to do with it. Of course you would cheer yourself up, if you could.

Don’t accept it if someone tells you, “that’s not enough to be suicidal about.” 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 neither wrong nor right; it is not a defect of character; it is morally neutral. It is simply an imbalance of pain versus coping resources.

You can survive suicidal feelings if you do either of two things: (1) find a way to reduce your pain, or (2) find a way to increase your coping resources. Both are possible.

Now I want to tell you five things to think about.

1. You need to hear that people do get through this -- even people who feel as badly as you are feeling now. Statistically, there is a very good chance that you are going to live. I hope that this information gives you some sense of hope.
 
2. 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. You have already done it for 5 minutes, just by reading this page.

You can do it for another 5 minutes by continuing to read this page. Keep going, and realize that while you still feel suicidal, you are not, at this moment, acting on it. That is very encouraging to me, and I hope it is to you.
 
3. 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.
 
4. 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.

But 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. Find one of them. Now. Use your 24 hours, or your week, and tell someone what’s going on with you.

It is okay to ask for help.
 

IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS - Suicide Help, Suicide Prevention - Get help preventing Suicide.

If you're feeling overwhelmed and are considering suicide, please call a suicide crisis hotline. In the United States: 1-800-784-2433 or 1-800-273-8255

If you or someone you know needs suicide help right away

 

We understand that sometimes it can feel difficult to pick up the telephone, so try an email instead. Sometimes writing down your thoughts can really help understand them better. Do you know someone who is suicidal... or would you like to be able to help, if the situation arises? Learn what to do, so that you can make the situation better, not worse. If you think you might benefit from confidential emotional support then there are trained professionals that are here for you 24/7:

To talk with a caring listener about your suicidal feelings, in the U.S. call 1-800-SUICIDE any time, day or night.

Send an anonymous e-mail to The Samaritans

Call 1-800-SUICIDE in the U.S.

Veterans Crisis Line & Online Chat - http://www.veteranscrisisline.net/ > 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1 or chat online to receive confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Teens, call Covenant House NineLine, 1-800-999-9999

AFSP - American Foundation for Suicide Prevention - http://www.afsp.org/

The Hopeline - http://www.hopeline.com/

Help Understanding Depression - http://www.ifred.org/

The Samaritans - http://www.samaritans.org/

But don’t give yourself the additional burden of trying to deal with this alone. Just talking about how you got to where you are, releases an awful lot of the pressure, and it might be just the additional coping resource you need to regain your balance.
 
5. Suicidal feelings are, in and of themselves, traumatic. After they subside, you need to continue caring for yourself. Therapy is a really good idea. So are the various self-help groups available both in your community and on the Internet.

Well, it’s been a few minutes and you’re still with me. I’m really glad.

Since you have made it this far, you deserve a reward. I think you should reward yourself by giving yourself a gift. The gift you will give yourself is a coping resource.

Remember, back up near the top of the page, I said that the idea is to make sure you have more coping resources than you have pain. So let’s give you another coping resource, or two, or ten...! until they outnumber your sources of pain.

Now, while this page may have given you some small relief, the best coping resource we can give you is another human being to talk with.

If you find someone who wants to listen, and tell them how you are feeling and how you got to this point, you will have increased your coping resources by one. Hopefully the first person you choose won’t be the last. There are a lot of people out there who really want to hear from you. It’s time to start looking around for one of them.

And while you’re at it, you can still stay with me for a bit. Check out the resources at the bottom of this page for more sources of online suicide help and wonderful healing books recommended by Lilly..

Reprinted with permission. written by Martha Ainsworth

 

Worried About A Suicidal Friend or Family Member? What can I do to help someone who may be suicidal?

 

Worried About A Suicidal Friend?
The Warning Signs Of Suicide
Help For Suicidal Teen's
For the prevention of teen suicide

Suicide Help - Finding help for the Depressive Response and Suicidal Thoughts.

How serious is our condition?
Why is it so hard for us to recover from being suicidal?
Recovery from grief and loss for suicidal persons
The stigma of suicide that keeps us from getting help
Online depression resources for suicidal persons
Handling a call from a suicidal person
Nine ways to help a suicidal person; and Suicide Warning Signs

 

Understanding Depression:  Thoughts of Suicide

For many years I had suffered from depression and suicidal urges. I tried to determine why it was happening to me and what I could do to end my pain. The books I found were mostly statistical listings of who took their own life, their income brackets, and vocations. Personal accounts were specific to their situation and recounted little insight into why this was happening to me, or what I could do to end the intense pain. I am, what some would say, mildly manic depressive and have a family history that would support such a conclusion. But, this is not my story. This is an attempt to help those who are depressed with suicidal thoughts, better understand what they are going through and help them find possible solutions.

Most people who are suicidal are also depressed. The two prime reasons that a person becomes depressed, are a loss of control, over their life situation and of their emotions, and secondly a loss of a positive sense of their future (loss of hope). Any therapy which is to be effective in reversing our depressed state, and the resultant suicidal urges, will have to help us regain control, and help us regain hope.

Being depressed causes us to narrow our view of the world around us to such an extent that reality becomes distorted. The negative in our lives is constantly reinforced and the positive around us is discounted as being irrelevant, or even non existent. Options to help solve our problems are rejected as having no merit, until it seems as if there is no possible solution.

An unrelenting and oppressive sadness comes over us which causes a very real pain, as if the pain of the sudden loss of a parent stays with us for weeks, months, and even years. It is as if we are trapped in a dark cave or possibly a tunnel that runs only from our constant pain to somewhere near hell, with no exit to heaven and no exit to joy. We begin to think that there is no relief and that this pain will never end. Tomorrow will be the same, or worse. Death may be the only solution!

Many people have suicidal thoughts at some time during their lives. For most the thought is fleeting, happening after a major life loss, or at some point in life where they perceive the future as becoming hopeless. For others, life is not quite so kind, they may have a strong genetic propensity to become depressed, a chemical imbalance, or a series of unfortunate life experiences may eventually end in depression. Still others
have much to do with causing their own pain by using an unrealistic cognitive thought process and having expectations in life that are not possible to achieve. Whatever the cause, we are all at risk of having strong suicidal urges when it seems as though the future has become hopeless.

There is no class or type of person that is exempt from having suicidal thoughts. Doctors, therapists, and teenagers from all walks of life, are all high on the percentage lists of completed suicide, although it seems that those people with strong religious convictions are least likely to attempt.

Suicidal "Triggers"

Given a person is depressed and having suicidal thoughts, there are certain releasers or triggers which intensify the suicidal urge. Recognizing those triggers of renewed suicidal urges which are present in your life will help you to understand what is happening to you and begin to allow you more control of your emotions.

1. Beginning Therapy and After Therapy.

Suicidal urges are particularly high just after a depressed patient first enters therapy. When beginning therapy the very symptoms give rise to thoughts such as "this will never work", or "why should I put myself through this, when there is no possible hope of success". Combined with these thoughts may be the possibility that the patient and therapist do not connect or bond (as may happen between any two strangers when they first meet). The expectation that therapy will fail, especially if this not the first attempt, is devastating. We begin to believe that if therapy fails, then we will never be rid of this pain, and what is the use of going on.

2. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! It is particularly tragic, when a patient has gone through therapy and the depression has substantially lifted, that they then kill themselves. It happens! Depression is episodic, in that it can come and go, sometimes in an instant. If a person is feeling euphoric and at long last can envision themselves as depression free in the future, any setback will cause a flight back to the conditioned response of suicidal ideation.

The thought of the pain returning is unbearable and the urge to die may become intense. The triggers which cause this renewed depressive and suicidal episode are usually the same things which contributed to the depression in the first place. After therapy a continued exposure to an abusive partner, an oppressive boss, the inability to overcome substance abuse, inadequate concept of self, financial problems, etc. can trigger renewed suicidal urges.

There is good news! These suicidal urges do not have to plunge you back into the depths of your depressive hell! This does not signify your therapy has failed or that you must then start again from square one. Recognizing those triggers or releasers of renewed suicidal urges that are present in your life will help you to understand when it happens and, that it can be reversed. The panic which follows renewed suicidal thoughts will be short lived if you do not allow this panic to take control of your mind. See your therapist, a friend, or the local crisis center. Let them help you talk it out, what you need now is - time. The feeling will pass, usually in 2 days or less!

Off in an isolated room playing a game with a young child, or alone in the back yard inspecting whatever, we hide trying to avoid any conversation which might remind us of the pain. Aunt Annabell, or even a stranger might ask us if we have a job yet, or if the divorce is final, and we are slammed back into depression and suicidal thoughts. A loving relative might ask us "what's wrong" and try to bring us out of our shell. An inappropriate angry outburst might follow, giving credence to the saying that "you always hurt the ones you love". We are sorry, we depress.


3. The Antagonists.

The antagonists in our lives (the oppressive boss, the abusive spouse or partner, or that jerk who never quits) can easily trigger renewed suicidal urges. Strangers, at first meeting, soon recognize or sense that we are depressed. This may be an unconscious recognition on their part where our general demeanor, body posture, facial expressions, and attitude send signals that may cause them to react with outbursts of anger, which are not warranted, given the circumstances.

This unfair treatment of a depressed person is perplexing and gives rise to thoughts such as "life is so unfair", or "life sucks!". Some others may feel a compassion for the depressed person which they are seldom able to adequately express, and they may embarrass or act inappropriately. Still others seek out depressed individuals and take advantage of the situation, all in order to boost an ego that is badly in need of repair. Take heart, as our depression lifts, and we begin to regain control of our life and of our emotions, this treatment will pass - and it does!

4. Natural Events and Suicidal Thoughts

The effect that natural events have on depression is extremely important, especially when one is beginning to overcome the depressive response. Fast moving weather front lows, the full and new moons, changes of the seasons, and decreased sunlight in winter, will cause an increased state of anxiety when a person is depressed. One is especially at risk when there is a fast moving weather front approaching the two days before the full moon. This must not be discounted as hearsay or superstition! Hollywood has made a mockery of the effect that the full moon may have on people.

When I mention the effect to people who have not experienced it, the same facial sneer always appears and anything I say after that is discounted as the babblings of an idiot. The fact is, that when depressed we are in a more primal state. Our emotions are raw and we are subject to natural changes in our environment and in our bodies. Increased risk can be anticipated during lows in the cycle of our biological state (such as during a woman's menstrual cycle - men have high and low monthly emotional and physical cycles also).


A statistical correlation has not been identified concerning suicidal attempts and the full moon because the full moon does not cause one to commit the act. The full moon and the other listed natural events cause an increased state of anxiety which exacerbates depression and increases the risk of the suicidal urge becoming strong. Actually the risk of attempts of suicide is greatest during the week after the full moon, as increased depression and the resultant suicidal urges begin to take their toll. Strong suicidal urges, mania that approaches panic (and a resultant plunge back to depression), or deepening depression that cannot be explained by renewed life crisis, can many times be explained by looking at a calendar which has the cycle of the moon marked on it! Although knowledge of what is causing this reversal does not keep it from happening, there is comfort in that one now understands what is happening and comfort that it will end in two days or less, and it does!

5. Substance Abuse

Nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, illegal drugs, obsessive overeating, and some prescription drugs, all have a detrimental effect on depressed persons. Many times the thought is that if the abuse can be overcome then the pain will end. In some cases this may be true, but what if attempts to overcome substance abuse fail? The failure may cause further depression making it difficult to even attempt subsequent withdrawal, let alone be successful. The truth is that it is possible to separate the depression from the substance abuse. Once the depression is overcome the substance abuse can be worked on from a position of strength rather than from a depressed state.

6. The Death Fantasy

During times of increased stress and trauma some may try to escape the pain of life by fantasizing that they are dead. The fantasy may begin with the thought that one has died, and the family and friends are standing at the grave side, they grieve and are very sorry we are dead. The vast number of people at the funeral attests to how much we were loved and admired. It had taken our death but we were finally able to communicate to them how unfair life had been for us and now they could take us seriously and realize that our pain was real. The "mock" attempts of suicide may be a similar form of fantasy, where the loved ones are envisioned as standing around the hospital bed and they are finally able to realize how unbearable the pain of life was for us. If one becomes preoccupied with the death fantasy or uses it to excess in escaping from the pain of life, the fantasy will become a conditioned response in reaction to added stress or crises. Death can become a friendly thought and one may begin to fear the pain of life more than they fear death.

7. Bipolar Disorder: A Manic Crash and Burn.

The bi-polar, manic depressive person (one who alternates between periods of manic euphoria and a depressed state) should be extra careful to identify those triggers which may cause a reversal of mood. Some people seem to be able to control their manic periods, others cannot. Even those who outwardly seem to be in control are at risk if they have a reversal of fortune, and their sometimes unrealistic endeavors turn sour. The mood swing can be swift, unexpected, and dangerous. In an instant we can be slammed back into a depressed state with strong suicidal urges.

Our View Of The Future

The human conscious mind is the only entity on the face of this planet which is able to conceptualize and abstract the future. The need for a positive sense of the future is one of the prime motivators of human life. This need transcends even the event of our ultimate demise and is the motivation to envision a continuation of life after death.

We do not want to think that death is the end. Heaven, and life after death with God fulfills this need for the religious person, others have envisioned reincarnation, or that we enter (body whole) into another dimension without the need to believe in God.

For others the legacy of their works or the continuation of their genes through their offspring is enough to give them a positive sense that death is not a complete end. In the short term and for those who do not concern themselves with what happens after we die, there is still the need for a positive sense of our future.

It is what makes us get up in the morning and face the coming day. Even in the face of adversity or drudgery we are motivated to endure, because we envision an end to these conditions and a better future at some later date. Anticipation of future events is what makes our body ready itself for the sex act, it is what motivates us to amass wealth and power, to buy a lotto ticket, to set goals and have aspirations.

Even the diehard sofa potato looks to the future as told to him by the upcoming programs in the television listings, and of course there is that next thirst quenching beer and resultant belch, to look forward to. We all have a need for something to look forward to, if we lose all hope that the future holds anything positive or that our present pain will ever end, most of us will depress.


Conclusion:

Knowing what is happening to us goes a long way in being able to regain control over our life and our emotions. But real healing will not be possible until the depression is lifted. I recommend that anyone who is depressed and having suicidal thoughts, seek help.

There are drugs which may help to maintain a depression free life, and therapy is needed to help us better understand why we became depressed and what we need to do in order to live our life in control of our emotions.

This manuscript was conceived while I sat on a ledge overlooking the abyss of hell. I would contemplate if I should follow the intense urge to jump and end it all, or if I could muster the strength to take control of my emotions and of my life. I tried so very hard to picture the future - with me in it.

I hope that relating the knowledge I have gained from my experience and my pain, might somehow help ease your pain. Knowing what is happening to you and some of the reasons why it is happening, might help you regain a positive view of your future, a view that includes both, you and me.

I hope that you have identified with one or more of the concepts presented in this article. I have received numerous emails thanking me for helping people to realize that they are not alone in their pain caused by depression and suicidal thoughts.

Unfortunately many people read and appreciate the article, only to rush off to yet another Web Site in search of answers to their problems. I strongly encourage you to now subscribe to my Self-Help Newsletter.

Please take this step to finally start doing something about your depressed state and suicidal thoughts, rather than continuously looking for the ‘quick fix’. The answers lie in our day-to-day, directed efforts to find help and to help ourselves. For most of us the ‘quick fix’, in fact, does not exist. But don’t despair. If you start now, in retrospect your day-to-day directed efforts will have helped your depression and suicidal thoughts in an amazingly short period of time. Just do it!

Let's suppose that you are the person planning your own death. Ok, you know how, when, where, and have the means to kill yourself. All that was easy. You may have persuaded yourself that death is the only answer for you. The truth is that there are always other choices. Do you feel that no one cares about you and what you are going through? You are wrong. Many people care, many more people than you know.


You must get help. No one can read your mind and subtle hints will not save you.

by © Stephen L. Bernhardt - 1996-2002
 

Suicide Help & Prevention - Here are things that you need to understand:

1. You and I must not interpret the present based on things of the past. Let each thing that is said or done be on it's own. Live in the "now" only. Put the past behind you and keep it there. Dreaming of what might have been will keep you from living the in the "now", and it incorrectly colors the present. If someone says something, accept the meaning without allowing the past to change it in your mind.

2. Stand up for yourself. Don't let others get away with trying to make you a victim. This is not a "get even" thought, it is a "stand up for yourself at all costs and all of the time" thought. Some people will walk on you if they can - don't let them. If they get away with it they will do it again and again, and you will despise yourself for letting them do that to you. You deserve better.

3. Forgive yourself. We all make mistakes and almost all mistakes are fixable. Learn from the mistake, forgive yourself and get on with living.

4. Learn to choose and to make your own decisions. By not choosing or deciding, we feel much less "in control" and we are that much more the victim. Get rid of "anything, doesn't matter, and whatever" those are not constructive choices. Many times, the lack of making decisions cause us to lose control of our lives, and that can lead to self hate.

5. Watch out for idealistic thinking, try to stay real, we are not in a perfect world and you and I must not try to be martyrs. We can't show others by our willingness to suffer or die for our ideals. Other people probably won't understand the reason for our pain anyway, and our subtlety will be wasted.

6. Much of the hostility and/or hate you are directing inward to yourself should have been and should be directed away from yourself and toward those who deserve it - but, don't direct it toward people who don't deserve it.
 

To Help Prevent Suicide -These are things that you can do to help yourself:

A - Know your enemy. Learn to recognize the symptoms of depression.

B - Take responsibility for your illness and be active in the treatment of it. If you know you're depressed, get help and do not wait. If your doctor or therapist isn't helping you, change to a different one (they work for you).

C - Get guilt out of your life. Guilt is what parents used to control you as a child. You are not a child anymore, so don't carry guilt around. (Also if you are doing things that make you feel bad about yourself, stop doing them).

D - If your depression is "out of control," talk to at least five people about it or until someone sees your desperation. Most people are not able to understand if they aren't trained professionals, but most anyone would help you if they knew how.

E - If you use alcohol or drugs stop. When they say "alcohol is a depressant" they aren't kidding. I can't stress this enough! I couldn't get my depression and my life under control until after I stopped drinking - totally. This fact took me years to finally understand. You also don't need the turmoil that comes with drinkers.

F - When you most feel like hibernating and avoiding people, force yourself to get dressed and be with others. There are also links here on listening, on conversation, and on assertiveness that can help you be more comfortable and effective when communicating with others.

G- Start an exercise program. Exercise combats depression. Exercise twice a day - it really helps. To make it easier do it every day. Make it a routine, and don't stop if you have a few bad days. If you are having a bad time, tell your therapist.

H - Put a card on your bathroom mirror and read it aloud five times in the morning and same at night. The card says: "I am a very worthwhile person". You are. We always remember more of the bad things in life than the good, and this reinforces our sense of worth. If you are feeling worthless do it now.

I - Most importantly get help from professionals. See your doctor (Md.), call a hotline, call 911, You can also check into any emergency room anywhere - It's sure better than trying suicide, and people there are trained to get you help. They will understand, but act. "Just do it."

 

AFSP Funds Research, Education and Treatment Programs Aimed At The Prevention of Suicide.

http://www.afsp.org/

AFSP: Understanding and Preventing Suicide Through Research, Education and Advocacy: More than 36,000 people in the United States die by suicide every year. It is this country's 10th leading cause of death, and is often characterized as a response to a single event or set of circumstances. However, unlike these popular conceptions, suicide is a much more involved phenomenon. The factors that contribute to any particular suicide are diverse and complex, so our efforts to understand it must incorporate many approaches. The clinical, neurobiological, legal and psychosocial aspects of suicide are some of the major lines of inquiry into suicide -- here, we present some information from each of these perspectives.

Youth America Crisis & Suicide Hotline For Teens

 

Teenagers - If you or someone you know needs help right away, you can call 1.877.YOUTHLINE (986-8454) toll free to talk to a trained youth peer to peer counselor.

 

 

Suicide Help & Depression Support Resources, Links, Advice, and Counseling

• The National Hopeline Network 1-800-SUICIDE - Trained volunteers are available 24 hours a day to listen and provide emotional support. You can call a volunteer on the phone, or e-mail them. Confidential and non-judgmental. Short of writing to a psychotherapist, the best source of online help
• Youth America Crisis & Suicide Hotline - 1.877.YOUTHLINE (986-8454) - YAH is the first and only toll free, peer to peer hotline network linking callers to community based peer counseling hotlines in the nation. It connects people who are depressed or suicidal -- or those who are concerned about someone they love - automatically to a CONTACT USA or AAS certified crisis center.
• Major Depression and Treating Depression With Antidepressants Q and A - These are several questions and answers about the disease called depression. Please read all of these carefully, since it is very important that you understand your disease as thoroughly as possible.
• Out of the Nightmare: Recovery from Depression and Suicidal Pain - If this web page helped you a little, this book could help a lot. Although it’s a big, thorough book, it’s worth getting into, and can be sampled in small doses. Dr. Conroy knows how to untangle the web of darkness and help you get past the guilt. I recommend this for suicidal persons, therapists, counselors, friends and families, and those left behind by the suicide of a loved one.
• Suicide: The Forever Decision - For those thinking about suicide, and for those who know, love, or counsel them, this book discusses the social aspects of suicide, the right to die, anger, loneliness, depression, stress, hopelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, the consequences of a suicide attempt, and how to get help.
• How I Stayed Alive When My Brain Was Trying to Kill Me: One Person's Guide to Suicide Prevention- For 18 years, Blauner survived obsessive suicidal thoughts with the help of three psychiatric hospitalizations, an excellent therapist, 12-step support groups, "spiritual exploration," Prozac and a network of family and friends. This personal account of what worked for her offers excellent practical advice to "teach you how to get through those excruciating moments when every cell in your brain and body is screaming, `I want to die!' "
• Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide - Jamison has studied manic-depressive illness and suicide both professionally--and personally. She first planned her own suicide at 17; she attempted to carry it out at 28. Now professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she explores the complex psychology of suicide, especially in people younger than 40: why it occurs, why it is one of our most significant health problems, and how it can be prevented. Jamison discusses manic-depression, suicide in different cultures and eras, suicide notes (they "promise more than they deliver"), methods, preventive treatments, and the devastating effects on loved ones. She explores what type of person commits suicide, and why, and when.
• No Time to Say Goodbye: Surviving The Suicide Of A Loved One - In her comprehensive and well-written manual for "suicide survivors," such as herself, she offers advice for those recovering from the suicide of a marital partner, relative or close friend. Drawing on research, interviews with survivors and her own experience, Fine provides insights into living beyond this tragedy including dealing with feelings of guilt and anger, the stigma of suicide and financial and legal problems, and she tells where to get help. She stresses that joining a peer support group is an important coping tool.
• Dying to Be Free: A Healing Guide for Families After a Suicide - Honest, gentle advice for those who have survived an unspeakable loss—the suicide of a loved one. Transforming suffering into strength, misconceptions into understanding, and shame into dignity, Beverly Cobain and Jean Larch break through the dangerous silence and stigma surrounding suicide to bring readers this much-needed book. Cobain’s achingly honest account of dealing with the suicide of a loved one, along with personal stories from others who experienced this profound loss, provide powerful insight into the confusion, fear, and guilt family members experience.
• An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness - This is one of the best scientific autobiographies ever written, a combination of clarity, truth, and insight into human character. "We are all, as Byron put it, differently organized," Jamison writes. "We each move within the restraints of our temperament and live up only partially to its possibilities." Jamison's ability to live fully within her limitations is an inspiration to her fellow mortals, whatever our particular burdens may be.
• Living When a Young Friend Commits Suicide - A welcome guide for young people who are trying to come to terms with a friend's suicide. Setting straight the myths about suicide and addressing the feelings of shock, grief, anger, and guilt, the authors offer practical, empathetic advice.

 

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