"Suicide is not chosen; it happens when your pain is greater than your ability to handle the situation."

That's all it's about. You are not a bad person, or crazy, or weak, or flawed, because you feel suicidal. It doesn't even mean that you really want to die - it only means that you have more pain than you can cope with right now. If I start piling weights on your shoulders, you will eventually collapse if I add enough weights... no matter how much you want to remain standing. (That's why it's useless for someone to say to you, "cheer up!" - of course you would, if you could.)

Don't accept it if someone tells you, "that's not enough to be suicidal about". There are many kinds of pain that may lead to suicide. Whether or not the pain is bearable may differ from person to person. What might be bearable to someone else, may not be bearable to you. The point at which the pain becomes unbearable depends on what kinds of coping resources you have. Individuals vary greatly in their capacity to withstand pain.

When pain exceeds pain-coping resources, suicidal feelings are the result. Most people have had suicidal thoughts at some point in their life. This does not in any way make you a bad person; it is not a defect of character. It is simply an imbalance of pain versus coping resources.

You can survive suicidal feelings if you do either of two things:
(1) find a way to reduce your pain, or (2) find a way to increase your coping resources. Both are possible.

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. I hope that this information gives you some sense of hope.

2. The next thing I want to suggest to you is to give yourself some distance. Say to yourself, "I will wait 24 hours before I do anything." Or a week. Remember that feelings and actions are two different things - just because you feel like killing yourself, doesn't mean that you have to actually do it right this minute. Put some distance between your suicidal feelings and suicidal action. Even if it's just 24 hours. You have already done it for 5 minutes, just by reading this page. You can do it for another 5 minutes by continuing to read this page. Keep going, and realize that while you still feel suicidal, you are not, at this moment, acting on it. That is very encouraging to me, and I hope it is to you.

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.

LET ME SUGGEST SOME HELP:

Suicide Hotline 800-273-TALK (8255)

 

"I sometimes have thoughts of suicide. What does the Bible say about it?"

Let me share some information that might help you with your thoughts of suicide. The Bible is very clear that we don't have the right to take our own lives. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." Jesus also said in John 16:33, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." There is hope for your life, and your life is worth living, even if things seem really bad right now. Everyone feels lonely, depressed, or hopeless at times in their life. But instead of focusing on the negative, turn your eyes and mind up to Christ. In your relationship with him you will discover your exciting purpose and destiny. Don't throw away your future!

Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) and he will use everything in this world to make you believe that you are ugly, unloved, unworthy, not valued, not wanted or anything except the truth. What is the truth? For you "to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses all knowledge." (Ephesians 3:18-19) Satan does not want you to know this love, but it is there for you and it is unconditional. Another lie that Satan will try to get you to believe is that you have to be perfect on the outside to have worth. The truth is that "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment... Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight" (1Peter 3:3-4).

Love Letter From God To You:

My Child--

You may not know me, but I know everything about you--Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up--Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways--Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered--Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image--Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being--Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring--Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived--Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation--Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book--Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live--Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made--Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb--Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born--Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me--John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love--1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you--1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your father--1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could--Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father--Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand--James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs--Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope--Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love--Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore--Psalm 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing--Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you--Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession--Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul--Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things--Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me--Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart--Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires--Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine--Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager--2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles--2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you--Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart--Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes--Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth--Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus--John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed--John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being--Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you--Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins--2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled--2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you--1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love--Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me--1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again--Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen--Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father--Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is Will you be my child--John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you--Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad. Almighty God

 

Know God? How can I know God?
Take a minute and find out how you can have a personal relationship with God!

Is There Really Someone Watching?
Find out who is watching and how He can help you with your problems. Find God Online! Believe it or not you can actually find God online. Take a minute and surf this area.

1. God Loves You...
God loves everyone and he desires us to have eternal life. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." And, John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (NIV)

2. You Are A Sinner In Need Of Forgiveness...
You have sinned by choosing to go your own way instead of God's way. Through His Holy Spirit, God wants you to know that you are seperated from God and will face His judgement. Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,". Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." And, Heb 9:27 says, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment," (NIV)

3. God Wants To Forgive You...
God demonstrated His love for you by sending His Son, Jesus Christ. By dying on the cross and rising from the dead, Jesus took your judgement and made it possible for you to be forgiven. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." And, 1 Pet 3:18 says, "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit," (NIV)

4. You Must Turn Away From Your Sins...
You cannot save yourself or earn God's forgiveness as a result of being good enough. Just as you change directions when you realize you're walking the wrong way, you must repent, or turn away, from you sins. Luke 13:5 says, "I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." And, Ephesians 2:8-9 say, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." (NIV)

5. You Must Place Your Faith In God's Son, Jesus Christ...
When you realize you are walking in the wrong direction, you turn to find the right way. Jesus is the right way. As you turn away from your sins, place your faith in Jesus to receive forgiveness and eternal life. Acts 20:21 says, "I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus." And, John 14:6 says, "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."" (NIV)

6. You Receive Jesus Christ Through Prayer...
Because Jesus is alive, He stands ready to come into your life. Revelations 3:20 says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (NIV) Through prayer you can:

Admit to God that you are a sinner and that you are turning away from you sins; Believe in Jesus by thanking Him for dying on the cross and rising from the dead for your sins; Commit your life to Jesus by asking Him to come into your life as your Savior and Lord.

After you have prayed this prayer, try to find a local church where you can worship and learn more about Jesus. Also, commit to a daily quiet time, reading your Bible and praying.