Suicidal thoughts- how to U-turn

[white knight]

Brother, uncle suicided. I, my sister and daughter all made attempts. Two weeks ago my wife's nephew passed the same way (unofficially). In my 67 years I think I had suicidal thoughts hundreds of times. Every time I reversed it- how is this done? Here as some ways-

• Time. In the depth of sadness taking time to pass by as there is "no rush to escape the demons"
• Breathe. Take long deep breaths, hold them when out and in for several seconds. Appreciate that action, you can breath, it is a wonder, a gift
• Move. Get up and walk up the street and back. Dont go far, your absence will be painful for others
• Love. Let yourself love you. Appreciate. It's ok, it is all ok.
• Cry. Let it out. 
• Changes. Once recovered alter your life with survival in mind. Employment, environment, toxic people, follow your dreams and seek out your true self
• Seek help. You know you need it. Find the help you deserve. We arent super human.
• Pluck a comment that's positive. For me it was from my dad before my attempt- "better to be the best part time dad than no dad at all"
• Rest. Calm yourself, rest, reflect and gather what is valuable in your life. Suicide path is a hard road to walk, it hurts, its sad and its emotional. It can be devastating for family and friends. 
• Action. What ever it takes. Any other road you take is better than the alternative you have considered.
• It's ok. it's all ok. 
• Talk. Seek out you chosen professional. Chat away. Follow the road to recovery. Talk on this forum?
• Praise yourself. You've made it, now pat yourself on the back. 

Do you have ideas to make that U-turn?

TonyWK

[Eagle Ray]

Dear Tony,

Thank you for your thoughtful post and excellent suggestions.

Some ideas for the U-turn that have helped me when I am in that space have been:

- Suddenly being made to laugh at a sense of the ridiculous. There are times I’ve felt horrendous and really struggling. I’ve been watching a comedy show on TV still in that state and something happens that makes me laugh out loud. I might have been in a horrible place for hours, days or weeks, then all of a sudden I’m just laughing and can feel a change in my body. It’s something about the absurd that makes life seem less heavy and serious. It might not solve everything but reduces the intensity of feelings.

- Time with animals. For me dogs are the best medicine of all. Patting a dog never ceases to help me feel better no matter how bad I was feeling beforehand. For others it might be a different animal they primarily connect with. They all help me but dogs seem to be my soul mates. I know some people say their dog has saved their life.

- Immersion in a creative hobby you love doing. This can be really hard to do when despairing. My two main things are photography and music but I neglected both for a long time as I was kind of in a frozen state. But when I do them and become absorbed it breaks up ruminating fear and anxiety and changes how my brain is working. Even though the bad feelings may return, alleviating them part of the time seems to help with coping overall. Today I did photography which got me out in nature and the fresh air and I’ve now got something else to look forward to which is putting the images on the computer and editing them, which also really absorbs me and takes my brain away from troubled states.

[white knight]

Thankyou Eagle Ray.

Distraction, so many ways to divert one's mind and comedy has to best the best. Spontaneous laughter in my experience has best been found with Charlie Chaplin clips and the 3 stooges. A laugh every 10 seconds.

I'm glad you like photography, so relaxing. We were visiting Esperance WA in 2p16 when we went to a beach cliff lookout. Heavy clouds late arvo and sun pierced through. I took 32 pics each one brighter and brighter as the sun shone brighter. The last pic was amazing.

Thanks again, productive suggestions.

TonyWK 

[Eagle Ray]

Hi Tony,

Yes, visual humour can be particularly hilarious. There's nothing like something that actually makes you laugh out loud. It breaks the hold that things like anxiety and depression can have on you.

I've been to Esperance too, many years ago as a teenager. I remember beautiful beaches. I would love to go back there to do photography. The images you were creating from the scene there sound amazing.

By the way, thank you for responding on the ptsd thread to me today. I did actually reply but I think there is something in there I've written the moderator's have picked up and not published it yet. So it might appear, but in any case, thank you for thoughts.