If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, PLEASE call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

When we’re struggling with suicidal thoughts, we’re overcome with an intense need for relief from our emotional pain. We’re often depressed and battling other mental health issues, and often addiction as well. We become convinced that the thoughts telling us that we want to die are the truth of how we feel. What if we examined our thoughts and went a little deeper? We might find that there are deeper truths within. Here are some tips for coping with suicidal thoughts.

When we desperately feel like we want to end our lives, there is often something that we need to release, that we’ve been holding onto so tightly we’ve formed an unhealthy attachment to it. For many of us, that thing we can’t let go of is our shame. We feel ashamed of being addicted, being depressed, not being where we want to be in our lives, not measuring up to other people. We feel ashamed of who we are. We feel inadequate and inferior to other people. What if we looked at our thoughts and feelings not as a reflection of needing to end our lives, but instead, needing to end the harmful emotional patterns we’ve developed? We need to release our attachment to shame. We need to let go of whatever is making us unable to forgive ourselves, whatever is keeping us stuck, paralyzed by fear, and unable to move forward.

Another thing we must work to release is our attachment to our thoughts. We become so attached to our thoughts that we believe they are true even when they’re not. We think a great many things that aren’t true. We believe we’re not good enough. We believe we’ll fail before we’ve even tried. We can’t allow all of our many thoughts to dictate our truth. We have to become more discerning with our thoughts, so that we can see through the illusions of our wounded ego and past the noise of our racing thoughts, down deeper, to the truth of who we are. We are unconditionally lovable and worthy, and when we feel like we want to die, it is often because something broken within us needs to die off and be released so that we can rebuild ourselves, regain our wholeness and love ourselves.

Better lives begin here, with the supportive and caring community of Bayview Recovery. Call us today: 888-570-7154.