Hi Everyone,

I am struggling to find ways to therapeutically process a recent suicide attempt. I am trying to remain upbeat and positive about the whole situation, however, I have found that my emotions are fluctuating a great deal at the moment. I understand that I am still in the infancy stages of my recovery (the attempt was made very recently). I am someone who generally moves at a very fast pace - the whole idea of taking things slow and being kind to myself is a new but challenging experience. If anyone has been in a similar situation before i'd love to get your thoughts on what I should be doing over the coming weeks to aid my recovery.

Hi River92,

Welcome to the forums, and thank you so much for being so open and brave, sharing your story with us today. We're so sorry to hear that you've been struggling with such a difficult time recently, and recognise that it's not easy to reach out, or to share what you've been through so recently, and we applaud your bravery and honesty!

We want you to know that we are reaching out to you privately this afternoon as well, to check in & see if we can offer you some extra support to help you navigate this difficult period of recovery. We know you can do it, and we're sending you lots of care! 

We'll leave you in the hands of our beautiful and supportive community for now, we know they will come alongside you to support you, encourage and inspire you.

Some helpful numbers for you (all 24/7):

Beyone Blue 1300 22 4636 or online chat https://www.beyondblue.org.au/support-service/chat
Lifeline 13 11 14 or online chat/text option https://www.lifeline.org.au/
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au/

IMPORTANT NOTE - PLEASE: Call 000 (triple zero) if you are ever in immediate danger to yourself, or take yourself to your nearest Emergency Department for mental health assistance if you feel you can.

Kind regards,

Sophie M

Hi River, welcome

There is many members here that have gone through a similar experience so you aren't alone and you do have a good stable future within your grasp.

Like any illness or trauma, several prongs is better than one. So I'll mention a few ideas.

• time: yep you can't rush it but you can't plan it. 3 month plan, 1,2,5 10 years plans giving you dreams and goals
• Spiritual/meditation. Please don't underestimate this. Rest is so good for you. Google- youtube prem rawat sunset , youtube prem rawat appreciate , youtube prem rawat all is well
• environment : moving can kick start your mood. City to country was my relief. Regular short trips even overnight...a tent and camp fire?
• Humans: rid yourself of toxic or selfish people. Evaluate their worth. I found my mother my worst effect. It's been 11 years and life has been so less stressful. Tough? Yes but you have to make hard decisions
• Work: reassess your career. Part time jobs better than one full time
• Diet and exercise
• Finances: it may be long term but put your budget under the microscope. Leave enough to socialise.
• Addictions are bad.
• Routine is good
• Hobbies and interests
• Love life: being loved and giving love to your needs (it's why I'm here)

If you think that a whole life change you're correct. Any action to prevent a journey down that road of sorrow.

Positivity is great but false or unachievable positive thoughts aren't realistic and can cause distress. Be measured.

Group therapy can be beneficial. It can also remind us how unwell others can be. Our feelings of being lucky can be refreshing.

Google-

beyondblue topic distraction and variety

Beyondblue topic worry worry worry

Beyondblue topic the best praise you'll ever get

I hope that helps. Repost anytime. I'm here daily and others too.

TonyWK

Hi River92,

Thank you so much for being so open and gutsy sharing your story. I agree with everything white knight and Sophie_M have said.

I also tend to move at a fast pace. I feel unfortable when I'm resting, or moving slowly. I tend to put myself under increasing amounts of pressure until I crack. I have gradually realised I was unwittingly connecting rest and respite with lazyness or irresponsibility. On some level I felt I was a "bad person" whenever I wasn't pushing myself to the limit.

Now I view rest and respite, and being kind to myself, as a duty, and I imagine this should be your focus over the coming weeks. Self-care is a responsibility as important as any other, perhaps more important. If you're like me, and feel uncomfortable resting, there are ways of resting that don't feel like resting. If you like pushing yourself, you could try to improve an art style you like. Also, I think physical exercise can be extremely beneficial in recovery, and exploring new physical skills (skating, dancing etc) can be very therapeutic.

While suicide is inherently a dark topic, there are definitely some positive aspects of going through what you have. For one, you will have perspective on something many people experience in one form or another, and other people will value this. As I started to recover from my worst, I began to think, "while I feel defective and ashamed, perhaps I can make all of this an asset somehow". I started volunteering running peer-support groups at an anxiety/depression org. I did this for many years, and the experience showed me just how widespread depression and suicide are across all sectors of the population, including very well-presented "normal" looking people. This made me realise I wasn't as defective as I thought. Also, I had direct experience to share that most of the other volunteers (who were psychology students) didn't, and many participants of the groups valued this. In addition to volunteering, there are even peer-support work jobs out there. These sorts of things may interest you down the line in your recovery.

Something a psychologist once said to me after a suicide attempt was something like "You haven't attempted suicide because you're defective. You attempted suicide because you're human." While I'm not entirely sure what he was getting at, the notion has stayed with me. All the best,

Welcome.

Fantastic honesty which means we can help you.

You haven't done anything "wrong", it's horrifying yes but an experience i hope you learn from.

Stay strong and be kind to yourself.