I've had thoughts of suicide since I was 12. I don't remember much of life before this time. I'm aware there are times that I haven't though as much about suicide as others, but it's always been a "yes please, that would be my preference" even during the better times.
Why am I still alive then? For two reasons:
- the emotional pain it would cause to very close family.
- the physical pain of accessible methods, and the risks of non-fatal attempts causing lifelong physical impairments.
How do I keep myself going all these years?
By focusing on how I can benefit other people's lives instead. If I'm going to put up with life, it may as well be beneficial to someone.
And to help me keep life less monotonous I look for 'interesting' things - quirky people, exploring foreign countries/cultures, trying new foods (even if i dont think I'll like them). I've never been a status-quo person.
I explain to MH supports that when life is not distressing I can carry on without seriously considering suicide as a possible option. I can say "hello there thought, I hear you but I have chosen not to act on it, things are OK". But when something sets things off kilter, its a pretty quick track back to "why am I still doing this? Do I really still have the same commitment to living? And why, for whom? Why can't I be permitted to die if that's what I want for myself?"
With decades of this under my belt, I have the ability to sit with feelings of extreme distress. And the courage to text or call someone if I need to - and I'm getting a little better at doing this *before* it gets too extreme, but I still hesitate because I don't want to burden others and the frequency of it happening during those unbalanced times is too often. I've persuaded myself a few times recently to instead call a crisis line, but waiting 30-45min in a queue can sometimes exacerbate the thoughts, and sometimes the calls might help dissipate the feelings (if i called early enough) but other times I feel worse after because of course they're going to try to give some positive outlook for the future, but it grates on me because deep down I dont want a future at all. Its actually refreshing when someone acknowledges that not liking/wanting life is OK - and instead just tries to look at how to rebalance the scales to help me cope with continuing to live despite not wanting to.
I'm not sure how un/common my way of thinking is. So much about suicide prevention is focused on short-term distress tolerance or "fixable" problems (eg situations).
What do I need from the community here...?
To be heard? To know if anyone else out there has a long enduring preference to die even when they aren't feeling active distress? And if so, has anything helped them longterm to shift that thinking?
If anyone knows of any practitioners who *specialise* in chronic SI since a young age, I'd really love to know who (if there is a way someone is allowed to??). I've tried Google searching and using online psych directories and reading bio's. I've seen many psychologists and psychiatrists in the past who haven't been able to help me shift this (even if theyve helped in other ways).
I do wonder if my neural networks for positive emotional may not have fully developed or may have atrophied due to the young age and length of time. I genuinely do not know what being happy feels like, I do not have any memory that I recall as being "happy" or joy, and I suspect this makes recovery much harder.
Im ok at the moment. Im safe. But it is exhausting.
We recognise there's some pretty big thoughts there which you are navigating and have been navigating for many years now.
I'm sure you are not alone in your experiences.
We look forward to hearing the community's insights, and thank you for letting the community know what you'd like from the community. This can really guide the community's responses.
Its hard not feeling like I can talk to family/friends about it, because it wouldn't be pleasant for them to hear about it frequently, and there isn't anything practical they can do to help. But at least they're there if I need to call on for a distraction. Im lucky to have people who do care for and value me.
Hearing you… about decades of suicidal ideation under the belt. It didn’t start as young as you, but I have had a BIG load of it. Mid was the start 20s for me, but I also did volunteer work at LINK Up … in the 1980s… and sadly a lot of exposure to others struggling with it, as we lived in very difficult circumstances and had a heavy trauma load.
Somehow we have kept going. I have felt pretty anxious and vulnerable in the last 24 hours, but soldiered on. I have come to accept that it is unlikely I will be free of it. No, I have not found recent crises lines helpful. More likely to push me over the edge, so I try my usual strategies. When I joke and say I am alive and kicking, few know how hard that’s been.
