Ever felt like you wish you could just disappear? Or fall
asleep and never wake up? Have you ever thought about not being here anymore,
or that the world would be better off without you in it? If you have had
thoughts like these, you are not alone. Although these types of thoughts are
common, most people who have these thoughts do not end their lives. However,
suicide among young adults is a very real concern—it is the third-leading cause
of death among young people ages 15 to 24. If you are struggling with these
thoughts and feelings, please read on.
I'm sad, hurt, confused, lonely, unloved, judged, missunderstood, broken fine
Depression is a painful experience; when depressed, you feel
hopeless and helpless, and it can become difficult to see how things will get
better. When people have suicidal thoughts, it is because they just want the
pain to stop and are looking for a way out of the hole they’re in. Usually,
they don’t really want to die—they just don’t want to feel the way they do.
They feel like things will never get better.
Things you can do to help yourself :
- Talk to Someone, a friend or mentor you trust, about what is
going on. As hard as this might be, don’t keep it to yourself. Tell your
therapist if you are seeing one.
- Make a Contact List of all the people (and their phone
numbers) you can reach out to when you are feeling distressed or suicidal.
Include the people who mean the most to you and give you reasons to live.
Include people you can can trust to help you and keep you
safe. List people who make you smile or cheer you up just by talking to them.
Keep this list close by and make sure it has more than one person in case the
first person you call isn’t available. When you’re feeling really down and
alone, this list will remind you that there are people you can turn to and make
it easy for you to contact them.
- Make a Reasons for Living List. Do this when your mood is
better because when you’re really down, it’s difficult to think of positive
things. Think hard—there are a lot of reasons—write any and all of them down:
your family, your friends, your little cousin who looks up to you, your pet,
graduating high school, the new episode of your favorite show, finishing the novel,
etc. Write them all down and keep the list close by so that you can look at it
when you’re feeling that you have nothing to look forward to
- Create a List of
Activities That Make You Feel Better, things that you can do when you
feel down or have suicidal thoughts. What things can you do to boost your
mood—even if it’s only temporarily? Take a walk, take a relaxing bath, watch a
silly movie, go golfing, play with your pet, call your Great Aunt Betty, listen
to your favorite song, decorate your bedroom, go for a drive, bake a cake—anything and everything
you can think of that can help you relieve some of your distress. Then use the
list and when you’re feeling low.
Maybe life is hard but you can do something that makes you feel BETTER!:)
