What are you looking for?
Featured Topics
Select a topic to start reading.
If you are in crisis and need immediate help, please call 1-800-273-8255 (NSPL) or text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line). More resources.
Is it normal to feel suicidal? The teens at my high school joke about it so much that it seems normalized. Is it though? Does feeling suicidal mean I need help, or does everyone experience this?
If you see a comment that is unsupportive or unfriendly, please report it using the flag button.
I know I experience it a lot. I've gotten help but I need more help for it. In some sense it is normal. I know a lot of people WANT to die a lot certain days. But actually attempting suicide and just feeling like you want to die are two totally different things. If you feel like you're going to attempt it then you should definitely seek help before you decide to.
ReplyIm not a professional here but no it isn't normal. And its not something to joke about. People feel this way often times when they don't see a way out of their problems or they're tired of misery in life I suppose. I can't speak for every person but I do know that most don't want to go through with it they only want their pain to end. Its usually temporary and things can get better. No you don't necessarily need help. But likely someone to talk to about it like a Dr your family Dr maybe. I talk to my own about it on occasion. Its not something to normalize as your peers are acting like. You only get one life in this world. Make it the best one you possibly can and enjoy it. Not everything will be fun of course but you got to look for the bright spots and what makes you happy.
ReplyIf it is that common that people joke about it maybe it has become a trend for them to say they are suicidal.
ReplyAbsolutely not normal.
ReplyHmmm...
People joke about dark stuff like suicide because shocking and taboo subjects can only be approached through humour - we can sound them out in the protective wrapping of a joke, without causing alarm.
I have a kind of gallows humour when it comes to certain things. Because sharing a laugh in the face of scary shit that's beyond my control makes it that much easier to cope with.
I think feeling suicidal is 'Normal' in the sense that it is a fairly rational response to a situation that is causing you a certain amount of emotional pain. It's definitely Not Normal in that it is such an extreme measure - Life is not meant to bring so much suffering that Death would be preferable. If life seems that bad, there are definitely other steps you could take to improve the situation before you decide to throw yourself off a bridge.
I kind of wish we could all talk about it a little more easily.
I used to feel a lot of distress over the amount of suicidal ideation that was churning though my brain during my teenage years. My parents were wrong to dismiss it as "just teenage hormones" - I was really struggling with something much more serious.
I lost a friend to suicide when I was 15, and felt half convinced that I would die by my own hand at some point, too. I couldn't imagine a future for myself that was worth living for. I even had a plan, but I knew on a fundamental level that I didn't really want to go through with it. I really got to a point where I hated that my own brain was making me feel like shit all the time. No way was I going to let a lump of offal hold my life to ransom like this.
After that point, I finally went to my GP, took antidepressants for many months, read self-help material, reached out to family, made a concerted effort to complete my exams and participate in group activities (singing in a choir worked really well to pull me out of my skull and into the mood of the song for a couple of hours each week). It took a long time to pull myself out of the crushing negativity and start forging better opportunities for myself, but I have built up my resilience since that time. I feel saner now, as an adult, than ever before.
Looking back on it, it seems so fucked up that I ever got to the point of feeling that bad. It crept up on me so slowly that it seemed Normal, and as a teenager, I had so little in the way of comparison - crushing despair was just the air I breathed. I was in my mid 20s before I realised just how severe my depression had been at that time. Holy cow! Thank goodness that what didn't kill me made me stronger.
Nowadays, if a thought pops into my head that I might casually throw myself under a bus, I just notice it as a little warning flag that I'm not looking after my emotional needs as much as I ought to.
On some level, it's almost comforting to know that however bad things get, that option is always available to me. I take a perverse reassurance in knowing where Rock Bottom lies.
I know that it's not a serious intention, but if part of me feels that bad, I need to figure out what it wants. Usually the underlying message is some variation on "I'm not having enough fun", or "I miss my favourite people".
Suicidal thoughts don't distress me any more or feel like an obligation - I think that's almost more healthy and normal than never having had any at all in the first place.
Replyi did and i honestly think u should
Reply