Suicidal and trapped, what now?

here are some practical tips for handling depression. Keep working with the therapist, but if you are not improving over the months, you should consider seeing a different therapist who can give you more practical help.

Generic Depression tips (PRINT THEM OUT):

Could a prescribed or over the counter medication be causing or worsening your depression? Many meds are culprits, including birth control pills, blood pressure, pain meds, etc. Alcohol and illicit drugs can cause serious problems too.

Get your thyroid levels checked – hypothyroidism is a depression mimic.

If your depression is worse in winter, try to get more sun. You may have seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or your depression could be partly seasonal. Use a light box (10,000 Lux (light intensity) at about 20” - about $300 online, don't get locally, they charge more, you don't need full spectrum, it needs a UV filter, the Sunray is a good brand). I have extra windows, painted the walls peach & yellow & have a skylight. There's a link to a cheaper lightbox at psycheducation.org. Also take 1000 to 2000 IU of Vitamin D in winter – if you live in the north, you are deficient in this vitamin & need the supplement anyhow, so you may as well see if it helps the depression.

Try meditation like progressive muscle relaxation or guided imagery. See The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook by Edmund Bourne for examples. Free 15 minute guided imagery download at healthjourneys.com.

Go out with friends, & if you don't have any, join a club & MAKE yourself go until you look forward to it. “Isolating” makes depression worse!

Exercise 1/2 hour a day, & anytime you feel depressed. Exercise is a great mood stabilizer & reduces anxiety. LOTS OF RESEARCH SUPPORTS THIS.

Insomnia?: Go to bed & get up the same time each day, even weekends. Don't use your bedroom to watch TV, read or use the computer. Don't do stuff that revs you up before bed, like exercising & using the computer. Light from computer screens & TV wakes you up. Use that last hour to wind down-take a bath? Make the bedroom very dark, even cover up the alarm clock. Use a noise machine (makes wave sounds etc.) to cover up disturbing sounds. Avoid caffeine in afternoon & evening. Try soundsleeping.com for free relaxing sounds downloads.

Put colorful, happy things around the house. Do nice things for yourself. Make a list of things that make you happy, like: bread fresh from the oven, the scent of Jergen's cherry almond lotion, the crisp sound of a saltine cracker breaking, fresh sheets on the bed, standing in the boat flicking topwater lures onto the water, etc. Use all your senses & read that list when you are breaking down

Work on time management if you are overwhelmed. Cut back on other responsibilities so you can spend more restorative time with friends & family. Ask for help if depression makes it hard to keep up with chores.

Spend more time with your pet, if you have one. Both of you will appreciate the time.

DON'T listen to sad music! It makes things worse! Listen to upbeat stuff- same with movies & novels.

DISTRACT yourself when you are hurting. Read a novel, watch a comedy, go out with friends, play cards or a video game, whatever is mentally all-consuming. This is VERY helpful in a crisis!!

Volunteer. Helping others makes you feel better about yourself. It also keeps you more involved in the community. Many people find comfort being involved in religion. Get help from your pastor. Some pastors from conservative faiths don't “believe” in mental illness & tell you to just pray more – don't go to such a pastor for “help.”

Put a half-smile on your face. Changing your expression is proven to help change mood.

Fill out a psychiatric advance directive to protect your rights & inform professionals about your care during a crisis. Links to your state's free PAD at bazelon.org.

If suicidal (not just “suicidal ideation,” but you are impulsive or have a plan), find a community hospital with inpatient behavioral health (yellow pages). Don't call 911 unless you have already hurt yourself, because if it is just psych symptoms, the police come & they will take you to the closest place & that could be a horrible state hospital.

Cognitive Behavioral therapy is the most effective kind of counseling. Try free computerized CBT at moodgym.anu.edu.au. Computerized therapy appears to be almost as effective as counseling, research shows. If you have an abuse history, it is likely to be a major cause of your depression.

There are always choices; alternatives to choices and yes, consequences to choices. Every day offers new choices and alternatives. Why deny yourself the chance for a new day and more alternatives? Even bad or tough to live with ones. I bet you the people who were murdered on Sept. 11, 2001 would like the chance even for one more day, even if it meant being unhappy. Also, life is what we make it, not what the others in our life make it. If you are determined to be depressed then you will be. Smile - truly the world isn't as bad as it seems, and tomorrow is always a new day for new choices and experiences. Be around to enjoy or hate them :o) Besides, what if in the future you cure cancer or something? You've got to be around to do it then!!

You may feel like you are in the deepest pit, and you doubt there is any hope of things getting better. No one seems to care or understand where you are coming from. Life just is not worth living...or is it?

If you will take a few moments to consider letting God truly be God in your life right now, He will prove how big He really is, “for nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). Perhaps scars from past hurts have resulted in an overwhelming sense of rejection or abandonment. That may lead to self-pity, anger, bitterness, vengeful thoughts, or unhealthy fears that have caused problems in some of your most important relationships.

Why should you not commit suicide? Friend, no matter how bad things are in your life, there is a God of love who is waiting for you to let Him guide you through your tunnel of despair and out into His marvelous light. He is your sure hope. His name is Jesus.

This Jesus, the sinless Son of God, identifies with you in your time of rejection and humiliation. The prophet Isaiah wrote of Him in Isaiah 53:2-6, describing Him as a man who was “despised and rejected” by everyone. His life was full of sorrow and suffering. But the sorrows He bore were not His own; they were ours. He was pierced, wounded, and crushed, all because of our sin. Because of His suffering, our lives can be redeemed and made whole.

Friend, Jesus Christ endured all this so that you might have all your sins forgiven. Whatever weight of guilt you carry, know that He will forgive you if you humbly receive Him as your Savior. “...Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you...” (Psalm 50:15). Nothing you have ever done is too bad for Jesus to forgive. Some of His choicest servants committed gross sins like murder (Moses), murder and adultery (King David), and physical and emotional abuse (the apostle Paul). Yet they found forgiveness and a new abundant life in the Lord. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Why should you not commit suicide? Friend, God stands ready to repair what is “broken,” namely, the life you have now, the life you want to end by suicide. In Isaiah 61:1-3, the prophet wrote, “The LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”

Come to Jesus, and let Him restore your joy and usefulness as you trust Him to begin a new work in your life. He promises to restore the joy you have lost and give you a new spirit to sustain you. Your broken heart is precious to Him: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:12, 15-17).

Will you accept the Lord as your Savior and Shepherd? He will guide your thoughts and steps—one day at a time—through His Word, the Bible. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you” (Psalm 32:8). “He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure” (Isaiah 33:6). In Christ, you will still have struggles, but you will now have hope.

You are no reason to end your life before it's even started.

Please don't make that mistake.

you will have ups and downs. some for long periods of times and some for short.

Bottom line, Things will ultimatley better.

Suicide will not end your problems, I promise.

Church would really help. Praying.

If you don't believe in that "crap", I dare you to try it and see the results.

It won't hurt to try.

I've been and still occasionally am suicidal. Your therapist has done ****. I hate to tell you this but you might need hospitalization. Go over to a mental health clinic immediately!

Please don't!!!! Even if it seems like like sucks it really gets better as you grow older join some chat rooms and talk to people

http://www.depression-chat-rooms.org/

talk to people in the chat rooms :) i promise you are loved and don't do it the world would miss you terribly. if you wanna get friends reach out to other people they might think you dont like them so they feel intimidated to reach out so you try first.

p.s. if you did desicde you might wanna give church a try defenetly go for it!!1 the people in there couldent be nicer and they can help you out of your stump

look around, find SOMETHING to live for. Instead of figuring out how to die, figure out how to live. You need willpower. Your obviously trying hard to stay alive, which means there`s still something you want to live for. Focus on that. And when you have the urge to kill, or even hurt yourself, do all you can to prevent it...

i feel for you, and i hope you get the help you are in dying need for. my brother goes through the exact same, he also has bi-polar disorder on top of that. right now he isnt living at home, as he was a danger to us all. just please, talk to somebody now. you can get through this, no matter what. stay strong baby xo

Friend, this will be quick. Right now I am suffering from SEVERE anxiety, depression, depersonalization, derealization, like you wouldn't believe. I understand you... I've felt kind of suicidal before, DEFINITELY like I've had no purpose to live. I understand... you're not alone. I've found one comfort though... Jesus Christ. Please, I'm not trying to bombard you with religious things. I'm in the same boat. You've obviously pondered the meaning of life before (quite natural), and if you really think about it, what is the point? There is one though. And this is a touchy situation, but a lot of people ignore it because they just don't know! What's going to happen when you die? The truth be told, there is a Heaven, and a Hell as well. The Bible is God's Holy Word. Did you know every single historical thing in the Bible has not been disproved, and, for example, anything historical found sums up perfectly with the Bible? Nothing, NOT ONE THING, has proved the Bible wrong. Nothing ever will. The Bible reveals truths. One thing it says is, (Romans 3:23), "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;". That means you've sinned, and so have I. Now for the bad news. But don't worry, there's good news too. The first part of Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin [is] death..." Basically, that means that because we've sinned, we deserve to die and yes, go to Hell. If you've sinned once, and the Bible says you've had, then you deserve to go to Hell. It makes sense... I mean, if Heaven is perfect (it is), then how could you or I be allowed in if we've sinned? But there's hope. Thousands of years ago, someone named Jesus Christ came to Earth. See, God loves you and I VERY, VERY MUCH... more than the closest person to you does. If nobody loves you that much, this love would way surpass that. If you were the last person on Earth, God himself would die for you! And when God saw this sin and that we were all condemned to Hell, He knew that in order to save us, someone would have to sacrifice. They'd have to be pure, and free of all sin, so that they could take all sin on them (an exchange - we take the purity to go to Heaven, He takes the sin). You are loved. Don't give up hope yet... YOU ARE LOVED! Back to the truth. Jesus Christ was the Son of God, sent down from Heaven in the form of man. And what did he do? He died for us. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus was holy and pure, and only He could save us! Because He loved us so much, He died for us. John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." You know what that means? Because He loved you SO much, He died the most painful death ever, just so you could be with Him in glory. All these bad things, this guilt, your suffering - it would all be wiped away if you accept Jesus. You'd have reason to live, and an important one too- save souls from being in ETERNAL flames. How do you accept this gift of God's love to YOU? Just believe!

Acts 2:21: "And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Pray this prayer, and recieve comfort:

Dear Lord Jesus,

I know I'm a sinner. I know I deserve to die and go to Hell. But I believe that you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to die on this Earth to save me from my sins. I believe that only you can save me, and not good works. I now accept your gift of life. Thank you for saving me from Hell.

In your Holy name, Amen.

Now, Christians suffer. Everyone goes through trials, but one day, after countless efforts to try to save people (hopefully successful ones), you will pass into eternal comfort.

I'll pray for you... I understand how painful it can be. Even now, I'm rather suffering. But there's still one underlying comfort.

Please, please, PLEASE don't die.

You've got a wonderful life ahead of you!

I know this sounds cheesy, but it's just another bump in the road, come on!

Bond with your family, they love you deep down!

Aren't suicide rates high enough?

Don't you know what many old people would give to go back to their youths??

"Suicide is a permanent 'solution' for a temporary problem."