Reasons why SS is actually helping YOU

[WornOutLife]

I'm still struggling with suicidal thoughts everyday. HOWEVER...

I've been feeling so much better since I became an active member of SS that I feel like explaining to you the reasons why I'm experiencing this great sensation in this community so, here I go:



-SS WORKS BETTER THAN THERAPY: Yes, people here actually DO understand the way you're feeling and won't judge you. They'll just try to help you as much as they can instead of telling you something like "life is precious "you just gotta try harder "what about going to a psych ward for some time?" and so on.

-PROPER METHODS: No one in SS is forcing you to ctb but fortunately, by reading some threads you can realize that your "implulsive method" is not the answer. Leaving this world is no easy task so, you'd better read a lot about all the most common methods!

-REAL FRIENDS: Yes. I'm talking about REAL friends even though you haven't met them in real life. I've befriended some really nice people here and I don't regret it. What's more, I've met a member of SS in real life and we had some fun. This person is dealing with a lot now so we haven't seen each other again but damn, I would certainly do it again!

-TALK ABOUT WHATEVER YOU WANT: Is it suicide? depression? love? What do you want to talk about? Whatever it is, people here will gladly talk about that with you! That's so amazing! (you should learn about this, reddit)

-AWESOME ADMINS/MODS: They do a great job and if you report a topic for X reason, they will probably delete it and ban this person if you're right. I'm so proud of them.



And well, I have some more reasons on mind but I would like you to tell me why SS actually helps us so, how has SS made your life better?

 

[KuriGohan&Kamehameha]

Because of people like you! <3

 

[avoid_slow_death]

Well, pretty much most of the above reasons. Most nights I browse the forums and vent or just reply. Really bad nights, like tonight, I can reach out to people here to talk to and that actually helps a bit if you live alone like me. The methods resources are pretty good as well.

 

[signifying nothing]

SS is my main source of social contact on a day to day basis. I'm not sure there's anywhere else I would find likeminded people, nor topics worth discussing as we do here.

 

[Joey]

Because of people like you! <3

and because of people like Kuri!

 

[LunarPyotr]

Let's just say that this is just a perfect place for people who have one or more things in common.
We can freely talk here about our problems without any fears or almost zero censorship.
People here are nice and supportive and I'm glad that I found this place before the shitty censorship even hit search engines like DuckDuckGo or Google.

However, since the owner(s) changed the domain, this site can be found on Google and DuckDuckGo again XD
So, in the end, their censorship was completely useless. Congratulation Bundesrepublik Deutschland. such a waste of taxes and resources

 

[Morituri_Te_Salutant]

What a wholesome thread. If past experiences taught me anything, it's that I doubt I'd be able to sing such praises of this place without something bad ending up happening to it (or me in here) the next day.

That being said, I do worry sometimes if this place will become stranded at some point. Like, either completely changed or mostly inactive. I guess I'm worrying because the people of this forum do seem to be nice people; which is most needed in a world full of bad people.

That being said...

-SS WORKS BETTER THAN THERAPY: Yes, people here actually DO understand the way you're feeling and won't judge you. They'll just try to help you as much as they can instead of telling you something like "life is precious "you just gotta try harder "what about going to a psych ward for some time?" and so on.

I've been thinking about seeking therapy from a western psychiatrist as I'm yet to find someone in my region that's actually capable, nice, takes their time (doesn't mind spending hours rather than tossing people out as soon as 10 minutes pass), doesn't mind a one-on-one conversation (i.e.: doesn't have someone in the room, so you could just freely talk to them) and doesn't make you get your relatives for my messed up mind, should I abandon that dream? I feel like normal people could only do so much compared to a psychiatrist, unless I'm wrong or something...

 

[WornOutLife]

What a wholesome thread. If past experiences taught me anything, it's that I doubt I'd be able to sing such praises of this place without something bad ending up happening to it (or me in here) the next day.

That being said, I do worry sometimes if this place will become stranded at some point. Like, either completely changed or mostly inactive. I guess I'm worrying because the people of this forum do seem to be nice people; which is most needed in a world full of bad people.

That being said...

I've been thinking about seeking therapy from a western psychiatrist as I'm yet to find someone in my region that's actually capable, nice, takes their time (doesn't mind spending hours rather than tossing people out as soon as 10 minutes pass), doesn't mind a one-on-one conversation (i.e.: doesn't have someone in the room, so you could just freely talk to them) and doesn't make you get your relatives for my messed up mind, should I abandon that dream? I feel like normal people could only do so much compared to a psychiatrist, unless I'm wrong or something...

Hello dear! Thank you very much for your words!

As for therapy, I think you should give a try! It's better to experience it so as to be sure whether it works or not.
It seems to help some people but it didn't help ME at all. I just wasted my money (fortunately my health insurance covered the expenses) and time!

Whatever you do, I just wish you the best and I'm glad lovely people like you are part of SS!!

Hugs and love,

Matt

 

[FuneralCry]

I think if a site like this didn't exist suicidal people would just become more isolated and would be more likely to actually ctb. Knowing that other people are in a similar position and that there is a place to write what they want with no judgement can be cathartic.
This site is also free from the toxic positivity type of stuff that is present on most other websites.

 

[mochi_]

I agree. I've spent years in therapy without success.

Within hours of my very first post here on SS, I felt comforted. For once, I felt like I wasn't talking to a wall.

"I understand." I've heard those words countless times, but they were always meaningless to me. Empty words spoken by people who are just trying to help. But when someone from SS said it - I just knew you guys meant it. And when I talked about how miserable and suicidal I was, SS members told me they were sorry that I was where I was and that they wished for me to find peace in whichever form it may take.

Reading the replies felt like accidentally discovering what I needed to hear in order to start healing. For the first time, talking about my feelings weren't met with that typical *gasp* followed by threats to call for "help" for feeling the wrong way. They were accepted as what they were - just FEELINGS. And knowing that we're actually from the same world...it helps.

I actually haven't met anyone from SS in person. But I'm hoping to be able to, someday.

 

[Last chance]

No disrespect to anyone on you're all lovely but apart from the occasional post this place makes me feel worse for sure. I find it very depressing and just another way for me to wallow in my misery,its somewhat addictive.

However it has given me information on the ins and outs of methods that I wouldn't have without this site.

I don't get the benefits from it that many people do but I am still glad it exists.

 

[motel rooms]

I like all the inappropriate jokes

 

[rs929]

My theory is most people leave SS when they're feeling better. Not your case obviously. But most. I think one comes here when in deep despair. If you start getting better, you don't want a constant reminder of what it felt to be in such place.
I like having one foot in one foot out, if you know what I mean. Just in case.

 

[Sensei]

I'd like to add two things: 1) You become aware that you're not alone in your suffering. 2) You can get advice from people who suffer for the same reasons as you.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

It gives me a lot of perspective on just how many different ways there are to suffer and reach the same conclusion I have that life is utterly pointless.

The forum games also help pass the time a lot and keep me from feeling as self-destructive as I am when I'm idle.

 

[clueless2dayor2morro]

yes for all the reasons u listed. i've learned that there are less grotesque and painful and more peaceful ways to go. i also enjoy reading about different peoples' therapy experiences and advice on getting therapy and treatment and how to find peace and bringing closure to things before ctb. even though life is painful, its helped me carry on for at least long enough to attempt to bring and get closure to things in my life. so in a weird way, its given me a longer lease on this life than i otherwise would have had before i discovered this wonderful forum and others similar to it!

 

[DarkWolf]

Not a lot can help me at this point. I'm fucked.
But being here helps pass the time. More than anything I like how most people on here have sympathy for me. Rather than telling me everything is my fault or accusing me of not engaging or being difficult or not trying/making an effort unlike so called MH professionals or 'family'.

 

[whitefeather]

I'm still struggling with suicidal thoughts everyday. HOWEVER...

I've been feeling so much better since I became an active member of SS that I feel like explaining to you the reasons why I'm experiencing this great sensation in this community so, here I go:



-SS WORKS BETTER THAN THERAPY: Yes, people here actually DO understand the way you're feeling and won't judge you. They'll just try to help you as much as they can instead of telling you something like "life is precious "you just gotta try harder "what about going to a psych ward for some time?" and so on.

-PROPER METHODS: No one in SS is forcing you to ctb but fortunately, by reading some threads you can realize that your "implulsive method" is not the answer. Leaving this world is no easy task so, you'd better read a lot about all the most common methods!

-REAL FRIENDS: Yes. I'm talking about REAL friends even though you haven't met them in real life. I've befriended some really nice people here and I don't regret it. What's more, I've met a member of SS in real life and we had some fun. This person is dealing with a lot now so we haven't seen each other again but damn, I would certainly do it again!

-TALK ABOUT WHATEVER YOU WANT: Is it suicide? depression? love? What do you want to talk about? Whatever it is, people here will gladly talk about that with you! That's so amazing! (you should learn about this, reddit)

-AWESOME ADMINS/MODS: They do a great job and if you report a topic for X reason, they will probably delete it and ban this person if you're right. I'm so proud of them.



And well, I have some more reasons on mind but I would like you to tell me why SS actually helps us so, how has SS made your life better?

SS is like "The Velveteen Rabbit " (children's book )

 

[everydayiloveyou]

I like that you can get realistic advice from fellow mentally ill people on here. A lot of users have been suicidal for a really long time, and/or had some other shitty life circumstance for just as long or longer. So there's lots of people who can tell you right away what works and what doesn't, without sugar-coating it.

On other recovery sites, any discussion on the permanence of our conditions is immediately shot down. It's also weirdly taboo to talk about how having severe mental illness causes tons of suffering and impairment to your life, even if that is literally in the diagnostic criteria. On SS, people talk honestly about relying on disability, needing medication, or having a low-wage job because their illness kept them from going to school (or keeping a better job, or maybe they can't do another job anymore, etc). I feel like on other websites, people are in similarly shitty positions, but they try to sugar coat it.

The sugar-coating even happens in therapy, with supportive figures, etc... Therapists will tell someone ugly with BDD that they aren't ugly, because telling them the truth is not "productive." It's so patronizing. I'm not someone who lacks insight, I have self-awareness and it's not like I make these decisions on a whim. I don't know why people are eager to encourage other permanent, potentially dangerous things to people with mental issues (such as taking up drugs/drinking, dieting, plastic surgery, having babies, crime), but if a suicidal person makes any mention of suicide, they are suddenly incapable of making decisions and don't know what permanence or nuance means.

 

[whywere]

Hi Matt!!!! I think @KuriGohan&Kamehameha said it the best: " it is becasue of people like YOU" 100% agree!! You are so thoughtful and kind. So, so happy to have you as a global family member. Lots of hugs and love to you!!! Walter

 

[heretogethelp]

I feel less alone & part of a community of damaged souls :)

 

[mineko]

Being able to be truly honest about how I feel is very comforting. People here really understand what I'm going through; it's not just a bunch of made up bs. I read so many posts and I think, that's me.

 

[WornOutLife]

Being able to be truly honest about how I feel is very comforting. People here really understand what I'm going through; it's not just a bunch of made up bs. I read so many posts and I think, that's me.

I totally agree with you!
I hope more people like us find SS because it works much better than nonsense therapy!

 

[SamsaSoup]

Originally lurking to read about methods, I was very happy to see how members receive support, and many cases of being advised against making attempts that guaranteed to fail and lead to likely long term damage.

Sometimes that's all the support that can make a positive difference.

 

[UseItOrLoseIt]

Besides everything that was already mentioned, one major benefit I got from SS is that it helped me lift the stigma of suicide I myself had before I joined. I talked about it in this THREAD.

 

[Shadowrider]

I don't think I can come with anything new, but would like to tell you anyway.

The mere fact that nobody here is going to take you for an idiot if you say you want to die does help. Let me join those of you who have stated not being stigmatized is great and does help!

Discussing methods makes you feel safe - in addition to channeling a great deal of self-destructiveness. No matter if you are determined to do it or not, having a chance to educate yourself about what is going to happen to you if you choose one or another method decreases your insecurity. It might help you with deciding "do I really want this to happen?" - and if you really want to do it, having a safe method is obviously better than any botched attempt.

I think this community has saved many lives just by having a real pro-choice attitude (and not pro-death as some ignorant morons believe). Users here accept each others' decisions and don't try to convince each other about anything. If anyone changes their mind - after a failed attempt, or not attempting to do it at all -, nobody will take you for a fake or an attention-seeker wannabe. This is very good, I think. Most of us have painful histories about people not believing us.

I really like the zero tolerance for trolling. Honestly, I have never seen any flaming or personal attacks remain unnoticed and unmoderated here. This adds to this forum being a safe place. Suicidal people are vulnerable, and sometimes even an online arguing can make us more suicidal. Feeling safe is essential, and it makes me less insecure (egoism yeah).

I like how we can discuss taboo matters openly.

And of course, it's awesome to have people to talk to! I do like having at least one or two people who are willing to talk about anything you post.

Huhhh... could continue it for hours, but TL; DR it's awesome that you are never alone here.

 

[ShePastAway]

While I agree with most of what was said here, I can't say my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. There are some nice people and most are, but there are people that make it feel very unsafe and unwelcoming. I wish I could say that it's helped, but in reality I've only felt more alone, bullied, judged and anxious. Also, the fact that active encouragement of Self harm is acceptable, and receiving abuse just for having some criticism, is not healthy. Not unlike how both extreme ends of politics are equally toxic. It is essentially an echo chamber, which in many ways can be dangerous.

 

[Symbiote]

While I agree with most of what was said here, I can't say my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. There are some nice people and most are, but there are people that make it feel very unsafe and unwelcoming. I wish I could say that it's helped, but in reality I've only felt more alone, bullied, judged and anxious. Also, the fact that active encouragement of Self harm is acceptable, and receiving abuse just for having some criticism, is not healthy. Not unlike how both extreme ends of politics are equally toxic. It is essentially an echo chamber, which in many ways can be dangerous.

Where did you experience abuse at on these forums? It would help if you could point it out by reporting such occurrences. We try our best to make this place safe as possible.

 

[Shadowrider]

While I agree with most of what was said here, I can't say my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. There are some nice people and most are, but there are people that make it feel very unsafe and unwelcoming. I wish I could say that it's helped, but in reality I've only felt more alone, bullied, judged and anxious. Also, the fact that active encouragement of Self harm is acceptable, and receiving abuse just for having some criticism, is not healthy. Not unlike how both extreme ends of politics are equally toxic. It is essentially an echo chamber, which in many ways can be dangerous.

I feel for you! You see, there is no such a thing as a perfect community. There are always a few members who behave badly.
I understand if such people made you feel alone & bullied. I have stated it before: we suicidal people are very vulnerable and it's very easy to make any of us feel judged and anxious.
What do you mean by active encouragement of self-harm? Discussing methods is one thing, but other automutilating behaviour - I might haven't read all the threads thoroughly... haven't seen anyone actively encouraging anyone else like "go and do some self-harm".

I am not the right person to judge your situation - about your expressing criticism and receiving abuse -, as I am relatively new here and certainly not one of the admins. But I'm pretty sure it's always better to report any abuse you experience, before it would go out of control.

I don't think this is the ideal forum for discussing politics. I don't know about others, but I intentionally stay away from talking about political matters here. There are many other platforms out there for that kind of thing.

 

[whywere]

I don't think I can come with anything new, but would like to tell you anyway.

The mere fact that nobody here is going to take you for an idiot if you say you want to die does help. Let me join those of you who have stated not being stigmatized is great and does help!

Discussing methods makes you feel safe - in addition to channeling a great deal of self-destructiveness. No matter if you are determined to do it or not, having a chance to educate yourself about what is going to happen to you if you choose one or another method decreases your insecurity. It might help you with deciding "do I really want this to happen?" - and if you really want to do it, having a safe method is obviously better than any botched attempt.

I think this community has saved many lives just by having a real pro-choice attitude (and not pro-death as some ignorant morons believe). Users here accept each others' decisions and don't try to convince each other about anything. If anyone changes their mind - after a failed attempt, or not attempting to do it at all -, nobody will take you for a fake or an attention-seeker wannabe. This is very good, I think. Most of us have painful histories about people not believing us.

I really like the zero tolerance for trolling. Honestly, I have never seen any flaming or personal attacks remain unnoticed and unmoderated here. This adds to this forum being a safe place. Suicidal people are vulnerable, and sometimes even an online arguing can make us more suicidal. Feeling safe is essential, and it makes me less insecure (egoism yeah).

I like how we can discuss taboo matters openly.

And of course, it's awesome to have people to talk to! I do like having at least one or two people who are willing to talk about anything you post.

Huhhh... could continue it for hours, but TL; DR it's awesome that you are never alone here.

HI! I 100% agree with you, in so far as never being alone on here. WE all ARE 1 global family, and I really love and care about and for EVERYONE on here. No matter one's path in life, pure personal choice, we ALL stand as 1. You are a very kind, loving and caring person, I can tell that by the way you wrote your post and your choice of words. I have had 2 attempts and it is global family members like YOU, who have helped me so, so much. I THANK YOU so much and have a great upcoming weekend. Walter