suicide a calming thought

[kelsischanging]

I don't think about suicide everyday..Unless i'm going through a really bad depressing time...but when I get overwhelmed (like tonight) suicide is a very calming thought for me...it's just like the thought of ending it all is a comfort...I am a self injurer and that is another source of calming...I just don't know what to get rid of these suicidal thoughts...I want to be able to calm myself down using a better method but i don't know how...the one's I've tried just don't do it for me...sometimes I scar myself w/ the thoughts and actions that I do when I get overwhelmed...I'm just scared...

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Thinking about it from time to time isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as you don't let it go any further than that - or if it does go further that you make sure you seek professional help before you act on it.

I think it was the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who noted that once you have accepted the idea that suicide is an option, you no longer have to use it. To me, that implies that what often drives thoughts about suicide is the fear that nothing will ever change, which of course is almost never true -- as long as you can see a way out of how you are feeling now or what you are exoreiencing now (and there is pretty much always a way), suicide isn't necessary.

 

[Daniel E.]

I want to be able to calm myself down using a better method but i don't know how...the one's I've tried just don't do it for me...

I'm sure you've probably seen lists of activities to help distract you or calm you down. My favorite list of activities is from UndoingDepression.com:

• Exercise, aerobically
• Go on a reading program-Dickens, Lecarre, Agatha Christie, etc.
• Do good deeds-give blood, visit a shut-in
• Play with your pets
• Organize your closet
• Go on the wagon for a month
• Cultivate your sense of humor-Marx Brothers, M. Hulot, Mel Brooks
• Socialize - get together with friends informally- have an impromptu potluck
• Phone or write to old friends
• Read a biography of someone you admire
• Cook something different, a new kind of cuisine
• Learn about a new subject: the Civil War, the American Revolution
• Get an orchid plant, or buy some flowers
• Sort through old photos
• Hang out at the library
• Organize an outing to a museum and dinner
• Join a reading group
• Listen to a book on tape
• Make fudge
• Make soup, and bring some to a neighbor you don't know well
• Get up early or sleep late - vary your routine
• Go swimming
• Music - play it loud, without any distractions
• Learn the computer and get online
• Rearrange the furniture
• Shop the garden catalogs
• Wear loud colors
• Learn a joke a day and tell it to five people
• At your impromptu party, play pass the tangerine, or twister
• Have a day of beauty, or grow a beard, or shave a beard
• Change your hairstyle
• Take walks
• Take naps
• Add something to this list

http://www.undoingdepression.com/livingwell/lwmoodchangers.html

One of my favorite distractions is watching the DVDs I rent from NetFlix.com or BlockBuster.com.

 

[just mary]

I just wanted to "add something to this list". I find vacumming extremely satisfying, something about sucking up all those dustbunnies. And I'm not kidding, I find it really helps, I'm thinking it must be something genetic since my brother does the same thing.

 

[kelsischanging]

I just wanted to thank each of you that gave me suggestions...I'm definitly going to try them...I guess I just need to keep trying things until I find something that works...I was really having a bad day today and I know I need to try harder to try different things to help me but it can be hard when you're just sitting there staring at the pills and vodka...but i know I need to at least try...thanks again for all your suggestions

 

[just mary]

Hey Kels,

I hope I didn't sound as though I was making light of the situation. I've had some bad days too, but you're on the right track, you're trying, and sometimes that's all you can do. And writing to a forum like this can help also, sometimes it's just nice to see that someone is reading/listening.

Take care,