never reaching rock bottom

[Scotchfinger]

I know what its like to be broke but I've never been homeless. I've never slept out on the streets, under the stars. I've always had a glimmer of support. Though tiny , it has always been there.

So I've never considered suicide seriously. Come on. What a waste of beautiful manhood!  🙂 I've never been so bad that I was ready to throw in the towel.

I suspect reaching rock bottom has helped some people though. Wake them up! "OK now I see what I have to do! Now I can turn my life around!"

So can I ask some people who have reached rock bottom, did it help you? Was it a light-bulb moment? How did you progress?

For me, I find I have never really been too bad. I mean I did gamble a lot of money away once and felt very regretful later. But I was able to recoup my losses later. it wasn't a life-shattering moment. I fear though I may be due for a low soon. (such is the way my anxious mind works)

Il-health must be a real wake-up call. I've been lucky with that too so far. (touch wood)

[Scotchfinger]

Not sure this thread was such a good idea after all.

[Scotchfinger]

Eckhart Tolle's "aha" moment is a good example.

He was extremely depressed and anxious , not sleeping and finally said to himself "I can't live with myself anymore."

Then that made him stop in his tracks.  "I" can't live with "myself" anymore? There must be two of me.Then he went on a spiritual quest to understand more including Buddhism. He realised that he needn't identify with "me" anymore. That he was the "I", the observer of his mind, not the "little sad me who made unahappy stories about himself". This awakening changed his life and thus went on to write bestsellers.

So for Tolle, reaching rock bottom led to a very important insight. Let us hope that we can all reach an insight like that, which spurs us on to embrace life again, and not go down the slippery slope of depression.

[Bluey_moon]

I found reading your post interesting. 

I too have never been that low! 

[Scotchfinger]

Thanks bluey moon

Interestingly Eckhart Tolle rejected academia, even though he showed a lot of potential at university. He said that he had overvalued intellectual ability and success amongst his peers. He made mental health his priority then.