Suggestion about suicide prevention

[AFTT47]

Hi, just thought it might be good to have a page or section addressing  what to do if a member here is threatening suicide.

This is a good idea. I fear it is premature, however. The mental health community as a whole and society in general are in flux as to how to deal with this. It is becoming more and more recognized that depression is more often a result of out-of-balance brain chemistry than situational emotional state. It doesn't seem to be well understood though. Casual suicidal thoughts seem to be common. How do we separate them from the much less common situation where the person is seriously contemplating suicide and not just reaching out for help?

I've been through this myself. When I lived in the Florida Keys, working as a tour boat captain, I found myself in a bad financial situation. This coupled with the fact that I do not have a healthy attitude toward physical aging. I enjoyed my physical youth and am very bitter about the loss of it. I have still not come to terms with this. I cut loose all my affairs and fled to Cocoa Beach, Florida. This was an area I had lived previously and had very fond memories of. I got a room in a hotel and resigned to off myself when my money ran out. When the day came, my cowardice won over and I sought help. So here I am.

I'm now in a totally different situation, back with my wife in a totally different part of the U.S. (Phoenix, AZ) whom I was estranged from for 23 years. So here I am. I'm definitely not as happy and fulfilled as I was back in those days as a young (early 30s), single guy on the beach. I wish I could go back there but I can't. I can only make the best of what I have.

All we can do is make the best of the life we have. Ultimately, I think it's up to each of us to decide on whether that's enough to overcome an innate fear of death. But we'll all face death eventually - whether we want to or not.