If you could go back in time would things change?

[MiMif]

If you had the opportunity to go back in time to the time you were first born and with all your memories do you think you would still be suicidal? Is it possible to change what made you suicidal?

Asking this for shits and giggles I don't really have an answer myself but if I had the opportunity I feel I might try to not be suicidal...though I would probably still have depression and still be me so I might end up the same but idk.

 

[Silent Raindrops]

Nah, I think I would still have become depressed and suicidal in my early teen years. Don't get me wrong, I had a decent childhood, but it's when my teen years came around that shit hit the fan.

 

[UKscotty]

No, I don't believe so.

Objectively my life has been good. Solid childhood, education and adult life. Marred by depression and addiction.

Depression I believe is neither nature or nurture, it's just a sad fact for some of us. Could argue that's nurture.

Knowing what I know now may have lessened it, but not much.
Many people have terrible child hoods or live in extreme hardship but are happy and content. Others are multi millionaires and hang themselves.

An interesting thought experiment none the less.

 

[KafkaF]

You'd have to specify what you mean with that for me to give an exact answer.

Like do you mean I go back in time with all my memories but wake up in the body I had at that time? Or do you mean that current me can go back in time to intervene?

The biggest thing that drives my suicidal thoughts is the emotional abuse I got at the hands of my parents throughout my life. That's... hard to fix unless I were somehow able to get young me away from them early on. I think that would only be possible if current me was able to go back into the past somehow. Because young me just couldn't have done anything.

Beyond that, if I were returned to 2011 things could probably change. I didn't know at the time that my then girlfriend still loved me when she broke up with me. So I'd probably get back together with her. She's probably the only woman who ever genuinely loved me, so that might mean a lot.

I'd also be able to seek out my current psychologist back when my anxiety wasn't as bad yet and my life wasn't in as bad of a state yet. I'd also put my foot down with my parents about taking a sabbath year before going to college. Cuz I really needed it and not taking it really screwed up my college experience. With these things handled I think there's an okay shot that I could've completed college. And as a result gotten a decent job.

Other than that... travelling back to February 4th of 2023 would be good. That's the day me and my previous girlfriend were officially together. And there are some things I'd do differently in that relationship with what I know now. I don't know if it would matter but... if it meant she wouldn't break up with me, that would definitely make me not actively suicidal anymore today. Even though my life would still have many problems.

At the very least I could kiss her again. And that would be worth everything for me.

So, yeah, I think there are times I could go back to in order to change things so that I'm no longer suicidal today. Although it's hard to say for sure how things would've turned out.

 

[MiMif]

You'd have to specify what you mean with that for me to give an exact answer.

Like do you mean I go back in time with all my memories but wake up in the body I had at that time? Or do you mean that current me can go back in time to intervene?

The biggest thing that drives my suicidal thoughts is the emotional abuse I got at the hands of my parents throughout my life. That's... hard to fix unless I were somehow able to get young me away from them early on. I think that would only be possible if current me was able to go back into the past somehow. Because young me just couldn't have done anything.

Beyond that, if I were returned to 2011 things could probably change. I didn't know at the time that my then girlfriend still loved me when she broke up with me. So I'd probably get back together with her. She's probably the only woman who ever genuinely loved me, so that might mean a lot.

I'd also be able to seek out my current psychologist back when my anxiety wasn't as bad yet and my life wasn't in as bad of a state yet. I'd also put my foot down with my parents about taking a sabbath year before going to college. Cuz I really needed it and not taking it really screwed up my college experience. With these things handled I think there's an okay shot that I could've completed college. And as a result gotten a decent job.

Other than that... travelling back to February 4th of 2023 would be good. That's the day me and my previous girlfriend were officially together. And there are some things I'd do differently in that relationship with what I know now. I don't know if it would matter but... if it meant she wouldn't break up with me, that would definitely make me not actively suicidal anymore today. Even though my life would still have many problems.

At the very least I could kiss her again. And that would be worth everything for me.

So, yeah, I think there are times I could go back to in order to change things so that I'm no longer suicidal today. Although it's hard to say for sure how things would've turned out.

I mean return back in time to when you first came out of the womb however you hold all the memories that your current self knows...maybe that makes it more clear. I don't mean that you go back in time and talk to your past self.

 

[KafkaF]

I mean return back in time to when you first came out of the womb however you hold all the memories that your current self knows...maybe that makes it more clear. I don't mean that you go back in time and talk to your past self.

If I'm back in my own body every time then I don't think there's any way I could've stopped the emotional abuse. So given that fact I don't think I'd ever be truly okay mentally. That being said, the rest of my answer still stands. If I could go back in my own body to 2011 then I could change a lot and potentially not end up suicidal. And if I could go back to February of 2023 then maybe I could change things so I wouldn't be suicidal right now either. Though I still wouldn't be okay.

 

[rozeske]

I mean return back in time to when you first came out of the womb however you hold all the memories that your current self knows...maybe that makes it more clear. I don't mean that you go back in time and talk to your past self.

Now that definitely would help. Living my life all over again knowing that it wasn't my fault for having a shity childhood, Knowing that am not a terrible child and a failure like they claimed to, Knowing the things that matter in life and just focusing my all my time and energy on them....yes, definitely.

 

[mojabaka]

Not get the covid vaccine. That's when everything went wrong.

 

[Forever Sleep]

No, the bad things that happened early on were either unavoidable- deaths in immediate family or- difficult to stop. As in- don't remarry Dad- I don't want to grow up with a (suspected) narcissist. I did actually have the opportunity to voice my concerns there but it felt pretty monstrous to do it because I knew it's what he desperately wanted.

Ironic that the people here hanging on for the sake of their parents (who brought them into this mess and may have contributed to it) now don't feel the freedom to get what they desperately want and get the hell out of this place!

 

[FuneralCry]

In my case existence is what makes me wish to die, I'd always see it as better to not exist no matter what. In my case I see my wish to die as a result of becoming aware of how existence truly is meaningless, undesirable and harmful, I don't see any benefit in being enslaved in this existence, to me existence is so incredibly burdensome, I find it such a terrible, horrific tragedy how life even existed at all.

No matter what I'd always prefer the peace of eternal non-existence to decaying from age in this hellish existence where there is no limit as to how much one can suffer, to me only eternal nothingness is ideal. Existence just creates unnecessary suffering, pain and problems that there was never a need for in the first place yet there are no disadvantages to not existing.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

I'd probably still make most of the same mistakes in life so it would probably be pointless even though I'm aware that time travel really is one of the few things that could save me. I don't think it works if my consciousness just gets put in my young body though, I need to actually be there as a separate entity so I can slap the shit out of myself anytime that idiot is about to do something stupid (which would be all the time).

 

[permanently tired]

I think so, I would go back and make decisions myself and not follow what my family or society ushers me towards

 

[calebzz1]

Honestly, if I were able to go back in time to before I had LASIK I would be perfectly fine.

I'm not looking to CTB but I tried everything and I feel visually impaired at a young age.

 

[Davey40210]

No, I don't believe so.

Objectively my life has been good. Solid childhood, education and adult life. Marred by depression and addiction.

Depression I believe is neither nature or nurture, it's just a sad fact for some of us. Could argue that's nurture.

Knowing what I know now may have lessened it, but not much.
Many people have terrible child hoods or live in extreme hardship but are happy and content. Others are multi millionaires and hang themselves.

An interesting thought experiment none the less.

It made me chuckle. Millionaire about to hang himself over here :-). But terrible childhood.
To the OP, I constantly think I should have stayed with my last gf or one of the ones before that. I really see them as angels sent to try and save me. But I wrote a diary which is full of pages with me trying to tell myself I should stay with her. And then I still f it up and self destruct on the relationship. So its not like I didnt know and didnt try. Good thing about a diary is it doesnt allow you to re-imagine what happened.

Other than that, I did everything right. I was flawed from the start with some sort of mental condition (autism?) and being mentally and physically abused by my parents. I did the best with what I had and I'm proud of myself for coming so far.

But I will go no further.

 

[Biblom2000]

I almost suffocated to death playing with my brother when I was a baby, so I would get to that point in my life and somehow get my mother out of the situation so she wouldn't interfere.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

No, I'd still wish to be dead. Things would be the same

 

[badtothebone]

Not sure! I can't tell because it's not possible.

 

[Praestat_Mori]

If you had the opportunity to go back in time to the time you were first born and with all your memories do you think you would still be suicidal? Is it possible to change what made you suicidal?

If everything happens the same way it did and with the memories I have I would know the crucial points in my life where I would have to make the opposite decision.

In this case, it'd be very unlikely that I become suicidal.

 

[chester]

I'd prefer to go back in time as in time travel rather than rewind my life. Then I'd be able to kill one of my ancestors before they had children and problem solved.

 

[ramon]

I would certainly do ALMOST EVERYTHING different.

How I'd deal with any abusive person I crossed paths with, how I'd negotiate a better income, how I'd visit that destination I never visited, how I'd approach that girl I never had the guts to talk to...

... And yet, I'd still plan on CTB since neither all the money in the world nor all the wisdom a man can get will save nobody from the difficulties that come with decaying heath as one ages.

You can tell me geriatric facilites are not that bad; but in a world where I'll be considered (behind my back) a burden to society for no longer being able to pull my own weight, is the kind of world you better leave while you still have any streghts to do it.

 

[CantDoIt]

I would not be suicidal so long as I retained the knowledge I have currently and could make changes which I would decide upon.

 

[SoulWhisperer]

That's a good question for me because I can't be entirely sure. The reason I'm suicidal is because my personality isn't fit for society. So even if I went back I could change just some minor things, I don't think I'd be able to turn my life over even if I could back...

 

[BlackEyedDog]

I would've made a better run at it, but if these memories are retained then so is the awareness and depression.