Give life another chance. You may be reading this article because you are contemplating killing yourself. Or perhaps you know someone who is.

If you are at the end of your rope, contact information for suicide prevention services, and other resources, are available at this link – Suicide Help.

If you have lost hope for your life because of depression and suicidal thoughts, please read on. Maybe give life another try.

Let me talk to you personally. I realize that you may have already planned to end your life or even tried to. All you can think about is how hopeless your life is, how you can’t go on living like this. The pain is too great. No one understands the burdens you carry or the emotional turmoil you are experiencing.

Let me share with you some hope about how your life can be different, and about why you should give life another try.

Options: I want to ask you to consider doing something other than trying to end your life. You may have tried counseling or talking to someone to no avail. I’m asking you to try taking some steps again, steps that will help you move in another direction, away from the self-destructive thoughts which have plagued you.

First of All, You Need to Understand Why You Are Depressed

You may say, “I do know why. I am a failure. I’m in debt. My wife/husband left me. Someone died. I’m unemployed. I’m lonely. I’m _____ (you fill in the blank).” I want to tell you that though you have many problems and struggles, most likely you are also struggling with a physical deficiency of chemicals in your nervous system. This may be a major reason for the depression you feel.

Many people who are depressed don’t know that depression is also caused by a deficiency of neurochemicals. A recent article from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic stated that “experts believe a genetic vulnerability combined with environmental factors, such as stress or physical illness, may trigger an imbalance in brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, resulting in depression. Imbalances in three neurotransmitters – serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine – seem to be linked to depression.”

These chemicals help people concentrate, improve mood, and increase energy. Medication, along with natural methods such as exercise and taking time to grow spiritually, can help increase these neurochemicals. You still need to work through other issues such as the loss of a loved one through death or divorce, low self-esteem, guilt, resentment, anger, or past sexual abuse. Those crises and losses need to be dealt with, processed, and grieved.

Have you been going to counseling and been treated for depression? If not, go immediately to your family doctor or a psychiatrist or to the nearest emergency room for help. You can find a counselor or go to the nearest mental health center. If you are suicidal, please contact 911 (in the USA & Canada). Please do this immediately!

If you are presently in counseling, you need to contact your therapist and/or psychiatrist to tell them you need help for depression and suicidal thoughts. If you can, ask a trusted friend or a family member or friend to go with you.

Understanding Depression and Challenging Your Emotions

Your feelings and your depression cannot be trusted. Feelings are not objective truth. Feelings are indicators of subjective thinking, and you need to explore the thoughts you have been dwelling on that have led you to contemplate suicide.

Thinking about killing yourself is believing lies about life and about the future. Many people in the past have struggled with depression but, they didn’t cave into or trust the feelings. They had the courage to go on, the courage to believe that their future and that their life could be different.

Martin Luther graphically described one of his frequent rock-bottom moods: “For more than a week I was close to the gates of death and hell. I trembled in all my members. Christ was wholly lost. I was shaken by desperation and blasphemy of God” (Here I Stand, Abingdon Press).

Don Baker, pastor and author wrote of his experience with depression: “I seemed to be out of touch with reality. Life was a blur, often out of focus. My life seemed to be nothing but pretense and fantasy. No one really cared, I felt, not even God. The only solution at times seemed to be suicide….”

These men did not follow their feelings. They rejected the despairing thoughts and moved forward. They were able to overcome hurdles and their emotions of defeat. You don’t need to be led astray by your negative feelings and thoughts either.

It’s time to challenge that thinking. Time to see your life from a healthy perspective. You are a person of value. You deserve to give life another try. You are important and you can change your thinking and behavior and improve your life! I implore you to also give God a chance to give you hope as well. Turn to God and seek His help and guidance. Why not find out what He can do?! I have witnessed how He has changed lives, lifted the downcast, and brought hope to those who feel lost.

Ask Yourself

• What feelings are underneath my depression?
• Do I suffer from low self-esteem?
• Am I having guilt problems?
• Am I struggling with relationship problems?
• Am I fearful about something?
• Am I struggling with some loss?
• What types of thoughts rule my mind?
• How can I take a step towards seeking God?

Ask God to reveal these things to you. Then, pray and ask Him for help and to change your life from the inside out. Don’t give up! Contract with someone close to you right now NOT to take your life.

Moving Beyond Hopelessness

Usually, people who are feeling depressed are not doing what would help them feel better. You need to fight the depression and move forward. Talk with someone about your feelings, about your life. Expressing your feelings to someone is very beneficial. Exploring with someone, especially a counselor, what underlies your feelings can help you begin to problem-solve.

Seeing your doctor for a physical exam and telling him or her about your depression can lead to further treatment for the physiological causes. You most likely need to take an antidepressant. Regular exercise and proper diet is very helpful and can also increase the neurochemicals your body is missing. Spending quality time with caring people, friends, God, members of your family and church will give you a sense of connection and help you regain meaning in your life.

Where To Start

You have read this article. Will you now consider taking a step toward life? A step towards rebuilding your life? A step to reach out for help? Refuse to believe the lies you have been telling yourself. Lies that life is hopeless, you are worthless and you have no future.

I’m here to tell you that your life has a future and a hope. I have seen so many people get help and go on to enjoy a better life! Write out a list of what will help you start over. Here are some suggestions:

1. Professional counseling: In the USA: American Association of Christian Counselors directory, SuicideHotlines.com. In Canada: Centre for Suicide Prevention.
2. A physical exam and medication
3. Exercise
4. Support from family and friends
5. Working through grief or loss. Reading a book such as: The Freedom from Depression Workbook by Les Carter, Frank Minirth; The Search for Significance by Robert McGee; Learning to Tell Myself the Truth by William Backus; or Keep Believing: God in the Midst of Our Deepest Struggles by Ray Pritchard.
6. Other: _________________ (fill in the blank)

I hope that I have been able to talk you out of harming yourself. Please contact someone for help, like a free and confidential online email mentor or chat online with a HopeCoach. Call your pastor, counselor, friend, your doctor. Take a step towards life and hope now.

Used with permission of Power to Change. Originally published at issuesiface.com.

Do you feel worthless? The answer to having deep-rooted self-worth is to understand how God views you. His view might just surprise you. Find out here.

If you or a friend need support right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, for free confidential, 24/7 help. For a list of crisis centers around the world and additional help, please visit the suicide prevention resource page.