One time when I was at my lowest I was driving around and contemplating where to park and potentially take my own life. An older gentleman was walking down the back road I was on with his wife and he turned and smiled at me with the most genuine smile I'd seen. His wife turned and did the same and they both waved. That couple saved my life by just showing me a moment of genuine humanity by smiling. Guilt was what drove me to want to die. This post made me remember this.

I don't like this message, because for many it's just not true. When you're THAT depressed, you don't care about staying alive or you, because you mean nothing to yourself, but the thought of upsetting others can be a huge slamming of the brakes. Not to say that's always the case either, you have to treat people as individuals and stop looking for a "solve-all" answer

And I don't know how it helps when someone is told about the people they left behind when they're considering suicide. Two options: it makes it worst (add guilt to the depression) or it doesn't work at all. I don't get it.

I hate people who think people who commit suicide are going to hell ( or whatever punishment place they believe they in). People who are depressed or suicidal are just angels that are tired of their life on earth and most likely it's not their fault anyways.

for me it went hand in hand. It was my brother A, loving me and telling me he would miss me AND B, me realizing how much it would hurt him if I did.

my ex used to tell me that i shouldnt, for him. hes still in my life but im realising what a horrible person he was but then again, i dont wanna believe it. recently he said i should do it if i wanted to..

In my own case, the presence of my new baby while I had severe postpartum depression, was just enough to keep me from doing myself in. I knew I was needed. It was a motivation to get the medical help and counselling I needed and now that baby is 26 yo and I'm glad that I stuck around. Kindness of others and feeling needed are strong safety nets that help us get through the bleakness of life.

God bless you for that beautiful message.😌😌😌

Man I feel this one. My mother in law (we're super close like mother/daughter) told me a whole guilt trip about not killing myself and because of ~list of names~ and how she didn't say it to make me feel bad. She did it so many times that I finally just went off. I flat out told her "no offense but I can't live for you or anyone else. I need to live for myself otherwise I'll end up back where I started". She got really quiet and that's when I realized I was going to be in the car with her for another hour and a half. So awkward. She apologized after a little bit and so did I. And I feel like we're closer for it. I could've been more tactful in my phrasing but I said what I needed to and she didn't take it personally.

They need to be mentally safe and know that there's someone there that cares and will listen to them and take them seriously instead of judging them. I wish more people had someone like that.

Could someone give me examples, cause I'm new to this. A good friend of mine tried to commit suicide recently, and I felt hopeless cause I didn't know say or do anything to convince them. The best I did, what I thought was right, was to at least make them laugh or smile. I don't know what it was, but it was like with each little chuckle they gave was the leverage I needed to let myself know that there is hope. That they may not go through with it. But of course, that's not always the case. Then when I got home, I cried...a lot, my mom called the school to maybe help, and really all I could do was wait. Which was the absolute worst. I went mute for a while. Didn't feel like talking and it hurt when I did. By far one of THE most scariest things I went through. Thankfully, they didn't go through with it. They are still alive to this day. But yea...anyone can help?

See this is why I haven’t died yet. I always go, but how will it affect this person or this person and then I go but why do I care how it will affect them I’ll be dead. Then I think what happens if I don’t die and then I realise how embarrassing that would be so really the only reason I haven’t committed suicide is social anxiety