I monitor a couple of mental health pages on the website Reddit and this post was from a forum called Suicide Watch.  These forums are not for the faint of heart, but I really appreciate the raw emotions poured out over the keyboards out there and the responses are usually very supportive.  Sure, some people can be jerks, but the majority of people are good and the sole response to this post proves my point.  I wanted to post my very own supportive response, but all comments were locked.  This usually happens when the moderator believes the comment section took a turn for the worse and now they are doing more harm than good.  Thank heavens for good moderators! 

The only thing I would have added to this wonderful response is that it is braver to ask for help, IMHO.  Check out the post and the awesome response below,  and if you find yourself in a tough spot—-please ask for help instead of making a forever decision.  Just my two cents.  Now the post and the response:

The Post:

Someone from my school committed suicide this week.

I never really talked to him, though he was in one of my classes last school year and was in my grade. I am someone who also deals with daily suicidal thoughts, and this is a lot to take in. On one hand, I’m heartbroken. I never expected that someone else from my school would commit suicide (despite the fact I know several people with suicidal thoughts). From what I’ve seen of him, he was a nice and goofy person. I’m also seeing all these comments on social media saying that they’ll miss him, and there’s also a fundraiser. My school sent out a message talking about how our counselors are always there for us. It reminds me that if I kill myself, then it would cause irreparable pain for others. But on the other hand, I’m jealous that he was brave enough to go through it. I’m jealous that he was able to successfully leave the shitty world we live in.

Overall, this is making me have feelings in ways I can’t properly explain. I’m talking with those close to me to help me deal with these perplexing and disorganized thoughts, but I also felt that posting about it on here was necessary.

The Response:

It’s very normal to be deeply upset when someone who’s part of our peer group dies by suicide, even if we aren’t that close to them.

Suicide tears a hole in the human fabric. It goes against our strongest instinct, which is survival.

If we have any thoughts of suicide at all, it can make that worse. Sadly, suicide clusters are a real phenomenon.

What’s saddest is that almost everyone who dies by suicide is deeply mourned and missed, even though in their despondent state they believe that they’re unwelcome in the world and the best thing they can do for the world is take themselves out of it. That’s one of the most tragic ironies of the human condition, I think.