Thank you so much for this. I was just writing my suicide notes(for months from now, not anytime soon. Don't know if I'll actually do it anyway, it's just in case) but what you said at the end really makes me reconsider. And thank you for saying I sound like a kind soul, I think you do too. I don't think you're selfish, in fact I think that's something I needed to hear.
Thank you for writing back. I was worried I went overboard or preached a tad too much. Your opening post just really moved me. I'm really pleased that you're still open to living, even if only a little bit.
About the other things you said, I'm aware life can change. I'm aware even the people on a suicide forum usually still think 18 is too young to ctb. I'm aware the brain doesn't fully develop until 25 or something, but I'm still an adult.
I don't put much stock in the whole brain still developing stuff. People mature at different rates (for e.g. you sound a lot more put together than I was at your age) and so your age actually has nothing to do with why I think it's a mistake to CTB at 18 - not directly. It's more about life experience, and how radically different the same circumstances look and feel when our perspectives on life and ourselves shift. Sorry that is a bit abstract but I don't know how else to put it into words.
I've wanted to die since I was 11, and no matter what I did or tried, the pain never went away. I never grew out of it like how people think anyone who's younger will just grow out of mental illness. It never goes away. It never has and never will, at least not for me.
I'm so sorry for everything you have been through and how it has left you feeling about yourself and life. I didn't experience abuse directly from a family member but what I did experience feels like it wired me a certain way, so I do understand that to a degree (although I think it is 10 times more debilitating when it's your primary caregivers who are doing the abusing). I also don't think mental illness can be 'grown out of'. Do people say that to you? People can be such meatheads.
I don't know how much longer I can deal with this pain. I'm so exhausted. The whole idea that life could change at any moment and things could get better made me realize that I truly want to die, and it's not just because of my shitty life anymore. This all started due to my shitty life, but now I realize even if that changed, I'd still want to die. My brain is all messed up. I imagined getting my dream life and I realized even then, I'd still want to kill myself. No matter what. Not even money could make me want to live. Nothing. My boyfriend makes me want to live temporarily, but that's not the same. It's more like an illusion, his love tricks my brain into thinking I want to live, but that's not what I truly want. I'm really sick. I'd turn down a million dollars if the other option was a painless death that didn't affect anyone around me. That sounds insane but I really mean it.
That's all completely valid. I really do understand and respect your feelings on all this. I guess what I mean by change isn't so much having a million dollars, it's a change in the lens through which you view life and yourself (and that million bucks). Life will never seem worth it when seen through your current lens, but that lens can be repaired, maybe not fully, but mended such that your experience of living has more good times (like the feelings you described experiencing with your bf) and fewer bad. Right now it sounds like you're living under the crushing weight of pretty much every waking moment being unbearable, and in that position every sane person would want to CTB. I guess I want you to know that your brain is more elastic than you think it is, and that it's possible to feel differently about yourself and life. That will be hard to imagine for you right now though, which is why I'm here to say it instead.
I'm glad you've recovered in different ways, but may I ask then why you're here? Not everyone here has to be suicidal, it can also just be a place for interesting discussions on the topic of death, but obviously most people here want to die including me. I wonder if you're truly recovered, why are you on a suicide forum then? It's not that I don't believe you, I'm just curious. Sometimes I think if someone truly got better, they wouldn't be able to reply and tell me about it because a healthy person wouldn't be on SaSu. Everyone is different though, I'm not saying it's impossible to be recovered and still be here.
It's a good question. I'm not far out of a long (for me) bout of suicidal ideation. I hadn't been on the forum for a while but yesterday was really hard, and I was staring into that void and felt the pull back to SaSu. For me, it helps to lurk and explore my own feelings through the discussions here. For e.g. I also have a partner who would be devastated if I left. That has kept me alive in the past, just barely though. So I related to what you were saying in your op. When I was in the pit I was using this as a resource to plan my own CTB though.
Also, about your first paragraph, that puts a lot into perspective and really makes me think more about how this would affect him. If you're right that no matter what I say in my note, he will still blame himself and fear the same thing happening in future relationships, I don't want to risk that at all. Thank you again for taking the time to reply. I hope my reply isn't too long.
Yes, I'm sorry to say that is true. Remember that when you feel desperate. I'm really glad you have someone or something (compassion for your bf) to pull you back from the edge.
And I just want to reiterate that more is possible for your life. Not to downplay the struggles you're facing at all, and I don't want to simplify anything or say it'll be easy. We so rarely can see what is possible from our own perspectives. And I promise you that whatever life is like for you right now, and however painful it is, it can look and feel different.
What would a tolerable life look like to you? Not in terms of circumstances alone, but for e.g. if certain feelings or thoughts were less intense?