Honestly, a nice, calming hobby goes a long way with keeping dark thoughts at bay. People crave a sense of purpose, visible progression, and entertainment to keep their mental state well. A good hobby will help with all of this.

This question seems pointed toward individuals considering suicide due to psychological issues. But as long as we're in the neighborhood:

• As a secularist, I have no afterlife-related concerns about suicide.

• I understand why people choose it when facing extreme medical issues.

• I also support the legalization of physician-assisted suicide.

also lana del rey. thank god for our queen. religion-ride-chemtrails-summertime sadness-borntodie

I noticed that I always feel my worst at night. I can have a great, happy day but sometimes, lying in bed trying to fall asleep, something in the back of my head tries to tell me I'm an absolute failure. It probably sounds silly, but when I was really struggling with depression, I made myself a promise that if I'm ever feeling like committing suicide, I'll put it off until the morning. There was something weirdly comforting for me about that. I don't have to wrestle with the decision; I can shrug and say, "Meh, maybe tomorrow."

You're apparently not supposed to tell suicidal people, "Think about how much it will hurt others!" because it just makes them feel even worse. But when I was considering it years ago, an image of my little brother popped into my head. He's (to use what seems like an inappropriate comparison in this situation) probably the only person in the world I'd give my life to defend. I realized he would be completely devastated if I died. And I realized that, if I was willing to die to protect him, I needed to be willing to live to protect him, even if it meant coping with the stuff that made me not want to.

Several years ago, I told my doctor that I felt sad a lot of the time. I was, unsurprisingly, diagnosed with depression, and found a medication that helped. I didn't know what to expect and had heard some scary things about anti-depressants, but it changed my life for the better. Don't rule it out as an option!

If there's something anyone right now that is making you look forward to waking up the next day no matter how small or big the feat. Never let it pass or slide that even if everything else is shattering all around you.

Everything may seem fall apart to eventually fall in place.
I am looking forward to this new decade to at least awaken more shreds of hope in me trying to survive alongside you kind folks.

@bc22

Had never thought of completing suicide... If I ever thought of that, I would just need to think of all the great people I have around me (my boyfriend, my parents, my brother, my closest friends...).

I had a boyfriend some years back who committed suicide. The wreckage that leaves among family and friends is overwhelming. I've had some dark times now and then, but I could never have my legacy be that kind of destruction.

Suicide is not a grand Shakespearean "to be or not to be" existential decision. It's about ending one's pain. But it doesn't solve anything--it's surrendering to the pain and darkness because one cannot see any alternatives.

I am not passing negative judgment on those who attempt/complete suicide--I still love my lost boyfriend very much. It is, though, tragic that he, and many others, did not see an alternative to resolving their pain.

The furthest I got down that rabbit hole is lightly thinking about it. I never had a serious consideration of suicide.

Any time I get depressed, I play with my pets.

Had never thought of completing suicide... If I ever thought of that, I would just need to think of all the great people I have around me (my boyfriend, my parents, my brother, my closest friends...).