lonewolfy, pretending that other people don't matter is stupid.

And telling a person who is in misery to stay alive just to you make you, his family and everyone else stay in your happy little cocoons is selfish and sadistic.

Moi? I'd rather be stupid than a selfish asshole any day.

Maybe if you know nothing about a subject and have only stupid things to say, you ought to STFU.

I've been in Psychiatric Wards on two separate occasions.

I have had suicidal thoughts and attempted suicide on one occasion. (My stomach was pumped, and I survived).

I was raised in a Third World, poverty-stricken country where misery is real...and often the only cradle-to-grave experience many people will have.

I was emotionally and physically abused until escaping my family home at age 16.

I have battled addictions, been bankrupt, ripped off by "friends", and was once homeless for a year - sleeping in public bathrooms and scavenging for food in garbage cans.

I know pain. I know misery. I know the depths of depression.

I don't know you, but I'd reckon I "know a lot more about the subject" than you do.

Only stupid things to say? You don't fuckin' know me or what I have been through, any more than you know what the LW has endured / is enduring.

But the key difference is that you assume whatever the LW's problems just, ya know, aren't that bad...while I understand his/her context from my own experience.

"STFU"?!? Look in the mirror, asshole. Who the hell are YOU to give advice to the LW?

Someday that might be your kid asking in public if he oughtta kill himself, and I hope the people who talk to him are as kind and understanding as most of the posters here.

Did you ever see "Million Dollar Baby?"

If my child - my flesh and blood, who I'd love more than anything or anyone - was subsumed in misery and pain, with no sensible or realistic solutions in the near- to mid-future...then I would wish nothing but mercy for him/her.

If he/she chose to end their misery, I would understand. Yes, it would be heartwrenching for me...but UNLIKE YOU, Marc, I would not want my child to continue to suffer for MY sake.

It's called selflessness. It's called love. Get a fuckin' clue.

Have a nice weekend.

You too. May you not lose your job, house & car, get dumped by the one you love, get raped or otherwise abused, cheated out of money by your family, ditched by your friends, stricken with a painful terminal illness, or otherwise shit on by the world.

No, really.

But if any and all those things happen to you, please be aware that I will never tell you to suck it up and just deal with it for everyone else.

Now I will STFU.

It will be only a matter of time before a woman sues these guys for sexual harassment or psychological abuse.

Interestingly enough, just now - during my lunch break at work (in Midwestern USA) - a female stranger entered our communal building breakroom to get a cup of coffee.

She made brief eye contact with me, smiled, and said that my (obviously homemade) sandwich looked delicious. I thought about my options:

1.) Smile politely and say "thanks!"

2.) Scowl and look away.

3.) Flip her the finger

4.) Threaten to sue for harassment - is "sandwich" her sexual innuendo for penis?

5.) Begin to smile...but stop and look away in fear, since a positive response on my part would piss off feminists everywhere

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Ya know what I choose to do in response?

Fuck all you humorless bastards - I chose #1!

And I'm happy I did so - it led to a brief yet interesting, friendly conversation. =)

Many individuals among the 6 billion people in this world endure nothing but pain and suffering in their lives. Some avoidable, most of it not.

Some people, from cradle to grave, never know love, joy or happiness.

This is true whether they kill themselves or wait agonizingly for natural death.

The scolding commenters on this thread who demand that you stay alive just for the sake of others - brother, nephew etc. -are themselves selfish, self-righteous assholes.

You should not be slave to your misery just to keep family members and friends happy...

And if they would choose/demand that you stay alive just so that they don't have to feel bad, then they really do NOT fucking care about you.

Bottom line: Make this life or death decison for yourself,LW. NOBODY else.

*******************

This is not to say that suicide is necessarily the right choice...

But simply that: for some people, it may indeed be the right choice.

Look closely at your life, LW. Do you really have NO future prospects for happiness?

Take the time that your Mom is 'giving' you while she is still alive to explore options: the adult dog idea previously mentioned.

Fuck antidepressant drugs. They do not and will not work...and you will NEVER be able to wean yourself off them.

Try volunteering. It gives perspective, creates shared empathy - and you might meet a friend or lover this way.

Break from routine. Splurge occasionally, and be impulsive.

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If none of that works, and you are still miserable: don't feel guilty about it.

Choose to end a life of pain. There are many effective ways.

Leave a letter apologizing to your loved ones - but explain that if the roles were reversed, your desire to see someone mercifully freed from misery would outweigh your selfish feelings of anger and resentment.

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Whatever you choose, LW - make it the most prudent, evaluated choice...

And again: choose for yourself.