Now I want to tell you five things to think about.

1. The first thing you need to hear is that people do get through this -- even people who feel as badly as you are feeling now. Statistically, there is a very good chance that you are going to live.

3. The third thing is this: People often turn to suicide because they are seeking relief from pain. Remember that relief is a feeling. And you have to be alive to feel it. You will not feel the relief you so desperately seek, if you are dead.

4. The fourth thing is this: Some people will react badly to your suicidal feelings, either because they are frightened, or angry; they may actually increase your pain instead of helping you, despite their intentions, by saying or doing thoughtless things. You have to understand that their bad reactions are about their fears, not about you. But there are people out there who can be with you in this horrible time, and will not judge you, or argue with you, or send you to a hospital, or try to talk you out of how badly you feel. They will simply care for you. Find one of them. Now. Use your 24 hours, or your week, and tell someone what's going on with you. It is okay to ask for help. Look in the front of your phone book for a crisis line or distress center, call a psychotherapist, carefully choose a friend or a minister or rabbi, someone who is likely to listen. But don't give yourself the additional burden of trying to deal with this alone. Just talking about how you got to where you are, releases an awful lot of the pressure, and it might be just the additional coping resource you need to regain your balance.

5. The last thing I want you to know right now is this: Suicidal feelings are, in and of themselves, traumatic. After they subside, you need to continue caring for yourself. Therapy is a really good idea. So are the various self-help groups available both in your community and on the Internet and various online services. Well, its been a few minutes and you're still with me. I'm really glad. Since you have made it this far, you deserve a reward. I think you should reward yourself by giving yourself a gift. The gift you will give yourself is a coping resource. Remember, back up near the top of the page, I said that the idea is to make sure you have more coping resources than you have pain. So let's give you another coping resource, or two, or ten...! Until they outnumber your sources of pain.

Now, while this page may have given you some small relief, the best coping resource we can recommend is another humanbeing. If you find someone who wants to listen, and tell them how you are feeling and how you got to this point, you will have increased your coping resources by one. Hopefully the first person you choose won't be the last. There are a lot of people out there who really want to hear from you... It's time to start looking around for one of them.

Now: Id like you to call someone.  

While most suicidal people recover and go on, others struggle with      suicidal thoughts and feelings for months or even years. Suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)).                                        

Recovery from grief and loss ...Has anyone significant in your life recently died? You would be in good company... many suicidal people have recently suffered a loss.

                 
"Please feel free to print out this page."