NOT Suicide advice

Every moment, someone somewhere is considering making his or her life. You may know that person. You may even be that person. Andreios advises: If you are feeling suicidal Killing yourself can seem a very logical step. You feel depressed. Perhaps your relationship has finished. Maybe you've lost your job. Life just doesn't feel worth living. No one understands, and it's impossible to tell anyone how you feel. What would they think of you? You hold back, bottle up your feelings and feel even worse. Reasons to hold back from suicide 1. Hurting inside may make suicide seem justifiable, but it's always helpful to remember that there are ways to stop hurting. Even if you've tried to get help in the past and failed, there is a way out of the pain - you just haven't found it yet. If you stay alive and keep looking for the support you need, you will find it. There are many people out there who care. The fact is, the vast majority of people who feel suicidal only do so for a very short time. Then they get the help they need, recover, and begin to enjoy life again. 2. Killing yourself may seem justifiable to you, maybe because you feel you're hurting others by being alive, but suicide isn't the answer. If you die, the people you love will feel guilty for the rest of their lives. So if you feel tempted to kill yourself, try pulling back from contact with the people you think you're hurting until you've found resolution to your problem. It's tough, but it's a more loving way forward. However worried people feel about you, and hurt they are by the way you are now, they'll hurt a lot more if you die. 3. One other reason you may be thinking of killing yourself is to make a point to someone who's hurt you, but that's not rewarding at all. Yes, you'll make your point - but you won't be around to see the impact. If you want to tell them something, do it in a way that allows you to witness the impact you're making. No, don't harm that person. But go and see them. Tell them, to their face, how they've hurt you and what you really think of them. If you've got the courage to kill yourself, use that courage to confront your enemies and defeat them. What to do now If you're considering taking your life right now, do one important thing: Wait. Wait for twenty-four hours. Then another twenty-four hours. And try making this stretch to a week. While you're waiting, tell someone what you're feeling. Talk to a friend. Talk to your family or ring the Samaritans - they are available twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Samaritans Cyprus: 77 77 72 67 As you wait and seek support, you'll notice something interesting. The edge will go from the pain. You'll realise that you don't hurt all the time - and that talking through your feelings gives you relief. Sure, the pain may come back -but you can keep it at bay by talking about it, even if for just for a few minutes at a time. Once you start talking about your feelings, and other people start hearing you overcome the pain, you'll get a sense that there's a solution to your problems. Remember, every problem - even yours - has a solution. You just haven't found that solution yet. But get support and help from other people, and you will find it. The pain will stop. And you can start living again.

by A.P.Evagorou