How to deal with suicidal thoughts?

[henry22]

My depression has gotten somewhat better. I've cleaned and exercised and stayed mostly out of bed. But the suicidal thoughts keep coming back. How do I control them? Do you have resources or tips? How do you reason your way into living?

 

[Bannana]

this type of thing really depends on your beliefs and stuff, but if you believe in the meaninglessness of everything you can always just inact the "fuck it we ball" mindset and decide there may be no meaning in life but that puts even less in death, so might as well stay in purgatory for a little and smell the roses while we have the chance.

 

[zeecen]

It's great that you're doing these things! I can empathize with the feeling of those kinds of thoughts always lingering in the background. Research Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. There's worksheets and resources on Google and on this forum. Also research mindfulness, which is discussed a lot in DBT.

Is there anything you do that can reduce the thoughts when they occur? For me cold showers are extremely effective at clearing my head. Some people use cold ice, sink faucets, etc as well. Finding activities and skills that help you endure the thoughts is the way to go tbh.

 

[Meteora]

That's very tough and I ve been dealing with this on a daily bases for the last 5 years. I tried to distract myself, meet people, talk on the phone, go to a forum like this, do sports....
And very often had to take Ativan because it was not managable.

 

[arnxxx]

Mindfulness might be something for you. Seeing suicidal thoughts as just thoughts that come and go like clowds in the sky. Bubbles that go pop. You want to control your thoughts but as you say, you can't. Thoughts arise before you even notice them.

Doing a mindfulness meditation from youtube can be a good start. Eckhart Tolle's book The Power of Now is also a good starter. Back then (about 15 years?) mindfulness played a big part in losing my depression.
I know it's not for everyone but hey you can try.