Considering Suicide? Reasons to LIVE!

Facing suicide is just about the most serious thing you can do. You don't have to do it alone and depression is a powerful demon to face alone. So you definitely should seek help. If you found this post, you were likely looking up issues on suicide online. Please consider finding this an act of fate to intervene on ending your life. Give yourself the chance to read these reasons to live and take them to heart long enough to live another day or get help.

You are not worthless: Depression gets deep into your inner ear and tells you lies about yourself. That's what they are, lies. You are not worthless. Everyone has value even if they don't know what that is yet. You are valuable to someone else too, even if it doesn't look that way today.

Depression lies to you: As if saying above wasn't enough, it bears repeating. Understand this clearly; your depression is trying to kill you. Don't let it.

You will make a positive impact in someone's life: Sooner or later and more than once. You will matter in someone else's life. It's a simple reality. You just need to hang on long enough and keep fighting for your life. Do you have a child? Children look up to us for guidance. By living you can still make good with your child. By dying, you seal off all possibilities forever. You also never know who that stranger will be around the corner who would have benefited somehow by meeting you.

Nobody's perfect: While your depression argues these points in your head, remember that no one is perfect. We all screw up and have to come back from it. Sometimes, we change our lives forever, sometimes, we bounce right back. That's life, my friend. It's still livable.

Someone will have to clean that up: Basic logic says that someone is going to find your body. Someone is going to have to clean up the mess you leave behind. Even if you just take pills, your bowels and bladder will let go and leave a mess. Don't make this happen any sooner than it needs too. People die enough already without helping the issue. And if you have young children, why would you want your lifeless body too mar their young memories and nightmares forever?

You're creating expenses bigger than what you are already dealing with: Look up the cost of a funeral. It's not a fun prospect and you'll be putting that on someone else's shoulders. If you think your family's finances are bad now, why would you want to add this to the problem? Insurance? Nope.

Insurance companies deny claims over suicide: Even if you have a suicide clause of some kind, it's going to screw up your life insurance seriously. At the minimum it will delay payment to your family for months (even  years) and cause even more expensive legal issues while fighting their decisions. Suicide is not a one and done deal. You may be gone, but the effects of what you do will linger forever.

You have potential you haven't found yet: No matter what, you have potential for something good somewhere or somehow. You just haven't found it yet. Denying this just proves the point even more. You won't know it until you see it. If you die, you'll never get to find out. Don't let depression rob you of life's possibilities.

The pain won't end: It continues with those you left behind. Think you have no family? What about that nice neighbor you talk to or that guy at that little store where you get your coffee every morning. You might be someone else's ray of sunshine in the morning and not even know it. You will affect someone. And if you are religious, suicide is a sin. So whether we are talking about those left behind or the philosophical, the pain won't end. Which makes another excellent point;

It's not a good way to prove your religious beliefs: Not only will you not be able to tell anyone about what you discover, you may discover possibilities you hadn't considered. You'll have a hard time finding a religion (taken seriously) that tells you it's okay to kill yourself. If you're an atheist, it's still a terrible way to prove there's no God. Who would you prove it to exactly?

You may have to live it all over again: If you've ever believed in reincarnation (to follow up on the religious argument) you have to consider this. What if you have to come back and do it all over again because you decided to flip the off switch yourself? If you aren't enjoying things this time around, what makes you think a do over will be better? Maybe this is your test in life? Overcome it instead. If you believe in the Bible at all, you will know that God says you are rewarded for your suffering, not for ending it all. I wouldn't want to roll the dice on this possibility.

It will get better: If there's one thing human beings are famous for, it's the power to adapt. And logic dictates that things can't stay bad forever. If you are being bullied, life will get better. It will! Hard times will pass and new times bring new possibilities. If it didn't kill you when it happened, it wasn't meant to.

The world will not be better off: Nor will anyone else. Your death will not make an impact on the global state of the world. It will be a sad footnote and a local tragedy. Death does not make anyone better off. Statistics for crime, war, and domestic violence prove it. Suicide is a dark shadow, a smear on the world. It's not worth it.

It won't "teach" anyone anything: Except for how depressed you were. It's also a terrible idea for revenge. You aren't going to get anyone back for anything. All you'll do is what's already been mentioned above. No one is going to hear about your death and say, "Boy, that guy sure taught me a lesson!" No. They're going to shake their heads and wonder at what was wrong with you. Death removes you from debate. If you want to teach someone something, find a better way to do it. Find new success in your life and live in spite of your haters.

If you are considering suicide for any reason, please get help. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.   This post dedicated to the influx of calls to suicide hotlines after the death of Robin Williams.

Your Doctor and the DSM

Today I found this article about more on the controversy over changes in the DSM, the diagnostic manual supposed to aid in diagnosing "mental illness". What the article suggests, I find very interesting. It suggests that most doctors don't like the DSM in the first place. Check it out HERE.

After reading this I can understand why. Mental disorders are not something you can fit into a distinct mold. They all have variations and degrees of effect and many are mixed in the people that have them. For example, it's possible to have Asperger's and Bipolar disorder at the same time. How do you distinguish them? That is what your doctor is supposed to be for. There are long trusted tests that can be administered and very long questionnaires that can help decipher. Specialists have been using these for years.

This further supports my belief that the key is not the DSM, rather your doctor. Your doctor has the final say and write the proper insurance codes to get you the support (meds, etc.) you need. No matter what they write in that DSM, the DSM is not your doctor.

Since the recent suggested changes, I've seen people worried about losing their diagnosis or having their diagnosis messed up in general. I literally have had people say to me that they need to worry about avoiding re-diagnosis. Well, here's the thing, don't accept it. You know your child better than anyone, you've researched the condition in and out (I hope) and have a good rapport with your doctor (I hope) and you can stick with what you know. The reality of your conditions or your child's conditions don't change just because a book says so. Talk to your doctor about your worries and that you want to make sure your child gets the support they need.

Autism and Loss of Identity

This is from personal experience. I cannot speak for everyone, but since it happened to me, it's reasonable to think it happens to others.

People with autism are typically very sensitive and can be very fragile. Certain sudden changes in life or environment can be very traumatic. They can result in psychological damage and be very hard to come back from or heal through. Very hard to "let go" of. Damages include PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), depression and even loss of identity.

Loss of identity is a loss of self and self definition. When I was forced to walk away from a career I loved, it tore away an integral part of me. That career, for all purposes, was "me". Worse, it was a discrimination case, and before I left I was hounded, harassed, degraded, and devalued. My work was made worthless. Imagine having to make a dramatic choice. You can have your hand cut off, or have it beaten to a pulp with a meat tenderizer and then cut off. Your legal rights say you don't have to make that choice. But if you don't, the choice will be made for you. You have no power. That is what it feels like.

And this happens to people all the time, I recognize that. I happens to neurotypical people who've worked their jobs for 20 plus years. That can cause loss of identity too. The point I want you to know is that for someone with autism who depends on things in their life being so controlled and predictable, it's much easier to cross that threshold. It may not take something a neurotypical person would consider life altering at all. That's because perspectives and perceptions are different.

So how did my autism have that affect for my loss of identity? As you may know, autistics often have a special interest that they get engrossed in and stuck on. They may develop this into a special skill. I was tested at a Vocational Rehabilitation office for my work attributes. I've mentioned this before. Anyhow, I made exceptional scores in writing/journalism and protection/law enforcement.

These were already true interests of mine for years. I had worked for security companies and served with a Military Police Unit. I had always, since my youth, wanted to be a detective. When I became an Animal control officer, I actually achieved that to a degree. I investigated offenses involving animals. I was already a trivia nut on animals anyway. So it really was perfect for me. It was so much more than just my source of income.

When something is that much a part of someone, it's very traumatizing to rip it away. The same could be said for an autistic who's life is comic books. If they are that much a part of his life and he's that deeply involved, a fire burning them all could cause a loss of identity. What he knew that he related to himself is gone.

So I think that an autistic person may be at higher risk for such trauma and it may be necessary to understand that. Can we come back from it? Sure, depending on the person. But not everyone comes back at the same pace or to the same degree.

There are kids at risk right now in the school systems. The stories of those bullied even by their teachers. You've seen them in the newspapers. Psychological and sociological damage at that age can shape them forever. You may as well build them high up on a pedestal and then push them off. This is why there needs to be more education, awareness, and understanding. This is why I write.

The Dying City

Detroit, MI should be declared an emergency and disaster area. According to recent reports, there are hundreds of buildings standing empty from a million people fleeing the sinking motor city. 30% of it's residents are on food stamps, but barely have any place to use them. That's because all of the major grocery chains in Detroit have closed.

The human body needs three things to function or it will die. They are oxygen, food and water. You can go without clothing or shelter (depending on location) forever in comparison to those three things. Think about the grocery stores in your town, then think of them as empty lots. Sure, you have a few small places to go for minor food stuffs, but is that going to be enough for your entire town? I doubt it. Most of those places are generally more expensive as it is. How many people are in your town anyway? Think about it.

One way military forces defeat their opponents is by cutting off supplies. Starved soldiers just don't make as good of fighters. Granted, we aren't talking about a military coup here, but is the result going to be that much different?

And who says a disaster can only be declared for physical damage and loss of human life? True, this isn't an earthquake or tornado, but we're talking about a historical landmark. So there isn't loss of human lives, but their still gone to somewhere else arne't they?

Put this in perspective for a minute, we are talking about a landmark city that boasted nearly two million people headed for old west ghost town status? Just try to convince me that isn't a disaster of historical proportion.

The motor city needs help and support. They need supplies and a new purpose.

I've seen a lot of good people lose their jobs and now they struggle to keep their homes. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the people are the ones who circulate America's wealth, they are the ones that need a bailout. They were put in this position by greedy corporations who would have received the money anyway if it came to us. Give a family a bailout and they pay their mortgage with it, who gets that money then? Give a family a bailout and they pay off their credit cards and their car, who gets that money then? Giving a bailout to the people would provide relief at the very core of the damage.

Want to know what good the bailouts have really done so far? Take a trip to Detroit. Bailing out the companies didn't work because they still lack the one thing that keeps them going, the consumer. No customers, no businesses, it's as simple as that.