If you're contemplating suicide, then you are in a very dark and dangerous place. The place you are now at as been referred to as "the crossroads" 

 Throughout the ages an unknown percentage of our species have found ourselves at "the crossroads". Happily millions of us have survived the experience. Sadly millions of us have not. 

We are at the crossroads when we are faced with a "choice" - either to carry on living or end our lives. There are no other options...

 More often than not, the "choice" occurs when LIFE equates to PAIN. This being so, the "choice" is to voluntarily suffer (or continue to suffer) something which we cannot endure. Or to end that suffering by ending ourselves and thereby ensuring the pain stops forever.

In short ... We must either "choose" to suffer - or to end that suffering. The crossroads is the place where the decision to live or die is made. 

 But what a choice: Premature death. Or an existence which is worse than death = A life of misery.

Whichever choice you make it is your decision. So please do not make that choice in the heat of the moment. Please take as much time as possible, and please resist the temptation to self-medicate with booze and recreational drugs. 

When at 'the crossroads' a large percentage of us self-medicate. That is to say, a lot of us drink more alcohol than we should, and others rely on recreational drugs. Some do both. With this in mind, it might be worth clicking onto the following warning (about self-medicating) below...

My name is John Raymond and I am not a mental health professional. Nor am I a counsellor. I do not represent any commercial organisation, nor religious group or cult. This resource is being constructed with only one object in mind... and that is to save life... hopefully yours, or that of a loved one.

I made a serious attempt to take my own life in 2005 and even though I still experience suicidal ideation I am still alive. So I must be doing something right. Hopefully, if you are undergoing a suicidal crisis you may find something in the following body of work which will be of help. I truly hope so. Good Luck

Before continuing: I beg you to accept one factual truth: Suicide has been defined as a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Suicide is not a permanent solution to a temporary problem - suicide is death. The fact that you have looked for (and have found) this resource strongly suggests that you do not want to kill yourself. You want to live, and you want to recover... Suicide will deny you any possibility of recovery - so please don't do it......

If things have now gotten so bad, that you are beginning to believe that the only way of putting an end to your emotional pain - is by putting an end to your physical life, you are in great danger.

Time for some straight talking:

Suicide is not the only means of putting an end to the emotional pain you are going through

• The fact that you're actually physically here, reading this message right now means that you could be trapped inside a terrifying emotional nightmare - seemingly without end.

• If this is so, you will be painfully aware that you need to end your suffering at any cost. Even if this cost involves dying. The suffering must stop.

• You are right of course. You do need to end your suffering - you do need to end the pain.  But suicide is not the way to end your suffering. Suicide will not heal your pain.  Suicide will not help you to recover. Suicide will simply pass this pain onto someone else to deal with. Usually this involves family and friends, who then inherit the pain.

• However, at this moment - being trapped in this emotional nightmare you will be feeling torn apart by the need to live, and the desire to die. As strange as it may seem, this is a positive sign.

• The pain you are experiencing is very real. It hurts. It is not something that is simply 'in your head'. Your pain has now got to a point where it is overwhelming your capacity to cope with - and it is becoming insufferable. It is simply too much to bear - and it feels like it will never go away.

• As this pain increases - the need to die also grows stronger. This is because emotional pain saps your will to live as you grow ever weaker. In the situation you are going through, this really is understandable.

• Given the pain you're in, your need to end it all is both perfectly natural and healthy - No one wants to suffer. No one.

• Suffering is unhealthy, so your choice not to suffer is a perfectly healthy choice.

• If you wanted to continue living in pain you would have to be mad. But you're not. The fact that you would sooner die than continue suffering proves that you are not mad.  It is vital that you appreciate this. This is a truth.

• You are not crazy, wicked, weak, or going mad. You are suffering. You need this pain to stop. This pain is not stopping which is why you are experiencing this emotional nightmare.

• Please bear one thing in mind, and that is that what you are experiencing is a condition. BUT YOU ARE NOT A CONDITION.  You are you. You are hurting, but you are still you. Please do not forget that.

• Another thing to remember is that conditions can (and do) improve. Indeed, over the span of a lifetime, conditions will come and go - some more serious than others - but they can both go - or improve. Either would be an improvement on the present situation. But conditions can go, or improve.

• At this moment, you are probably feeling alone and trapped inside a truly frightening place.  Where (given the feelings which you are experiencing) it is perfectly normal to feel that the only way to end your emotional pain is to end your physical life. Millions of us know this dark and lonely place.

• Throughout the history of our species countless millions of others have actually been through this dreadful thing and survived. They too have known this "dark and lonely place" and have survived        and         SO CAN WE.

• With this in mind, it is important that we understand that today (around the world) there will be countless others who share our pain and are going through what we are going through.

• The fact that there are so many others who have experienced what we are experiencing and have survived,  should fill us with hope. It is proof that options to suicide really do exist.

Stay with me on this please, you are not alone. I am not alone. We are not alone.

Let's have a recap

Emotional pain can be agonising and can cause untold misery and suffering well beyond our capacity to cope with. When this happens we can begin to feel suicidal

 This is precisely what is happening now. You are not going mad (although it can feel like it) You are not weak minded. You are not a freak. You are a human being who is going through a truly terrible time at the moment and just want it to stop. It is not stopping so your ability to cope is being overwhelmed by intense emotional pain.

• I know that I may be repeating myself and that it is hard to believe, but this pain will pass. No matter how bad it is and no matter how much worse it will become. One thing is sure. Eventually - it will pass.

• The suicidal thoughts and feelings, which you are currently experiencing, are a natural response to the pain you're going through. These too will diminish in the fullness of time. But at this moment. Do not be afraid.

• Remember one important truth, there is a world of difference between having suicidal thoughts and acting upon them. Whilst it is ok to have such thoughts, it is not ok to act upon them.

 Remember

• Suicide is not a coping strategy. Suicide is a killer. Suicide is not a sanctuary. Suicide does not heal. Suicide guarantees you will never heal. Suicide does not end the pain, Suicide passes the pain on to others (usually loved ones) to endure. 
  Suicide is not an option
  

There really are options to suicide