depression & suicide

Ask A Therapist Onlinedepression & suicide
estefania asked 12 years ago

im 14 and all i wanna do is cry and cry , it seems that cutting myself is all i wanna do. i have had thought of suicide and im afraid one of these days ill end up doing it. Im just tired of everything.

1 Answers
Best Answer
Insight Psychological Staff answered 10 years ago

Depression and suicidal ideation are two very difficult things to live with. I can imagine you must be very tired and exhausted of this way of living. I highly recommend speaking to someone who can help get you out of this. You’ve made a very big step forward just my reaching out and asking for help. Do you know your reasons for cutting? What was going on in your life when you started this? Getting to the route of this problem is key in helping you get through it.

There are several numbers you can contact for support. You can book an appointment here at Insight Psychological (780-461-1717), or you could try The Support Network (780-482-0198), or The Distress Line (780-482-4357)

In the meantime, I am going to offer you some suggestions that you may want to try before cutting. Consider this a commitment to yourself to cope with intense emotions in a safe way. Often the feeling to cut will pass if you wait it out, you just need something to help you wait it out, to pass the time with. I suggest doing these things in order whenever you have the urge to cut.

1.     before the urge to cut happens (when you are in a more positive state of mind), remove the items that you use to cut. Put them somewhere that will be difficult for you to access them if you are feeling the urge

2.     ask someone to be a “safe place” for you. This means you can call them any time- day or night to talk until the urge to cut passes.

3.     find an activity that you enjoy doing; painting, playing with play doe, passing the floor, deep breathing, playing with lego, going for a run. Anything to distract you until the feeling to cut passes. I know the urge to cut is stronger then the urge to do any of these other activities, but just give yourself permission to do them anyway. Cutting will always be there if nothing else works.

4.     call the distress line. They are available 24 hours a day. 780-482-4357

5.     try a safer method than cutting that will still release endorphins (the release of endorphins in response to physical pain is what makes cutting addictive). Some examples include quickly rubbing ice cubes on the skin, or snapping a rubber band on the wrist.

you may want to check out the following websites; http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Cutting-Yourself, http://self-injury.net/resources/hotlines, http://www.fortrefuge.com/SI-SH.html