User blog comment:Constable Huxley the Horse/Update on Me/@comment-5381241-20150629044330

I don't like the phrase "A cry for help." I just don't like how it sounds. When somebody says to me, "I'm thinking about suicide. I have a plan; I just need a reason not to do it," the last thing I see is helplessness.

I think: Your depression has been beating you up for years. It's called you ugly, and stupid, and pathetic, and a failure. It has been telling you these things for so long that you've forgotten that it's wrong. You don't see any good in yourself, and you don't have any hope.

But still, here you are! You've come over to us, banged on our door and said, "HEY! Staying alive is REALLY HARD right now! Just give me something to fight with! I don't care if it's a stick! Give me a stick and I can stay alive!"

How is that helpless? I think that's incredible. You're like a Marine: trapped for years behind enemy lines. Your gun has been taken away, you're out of ammo, you're malnourished, and you've probably caught some wicked jungle virus that's causing you to hallucinate giant spiders or something.

And here you here, still just going, "Give me a stick! I'm NOT dying out here!"

"A cry for help" makes it sound like I'm supposed to take pity on you, but you don't need my pity. This isn't pathetic. This is the will to survive. This is how humans have lived long enough to become the dominant species.

I have gone through hard times myself. I may not know exactly what it is like to go through what you are going through, but just know that you are loved, appreciated, and you matter to us. You are an amazing human being, and you have so much ahead of you. Just don't give up hope. If you would like to chat anytime, let me know. Good luck, my friend.