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Comment by lionhearted | Hacker News Reader

Fuck, that's awful. If anyone ever is contemplating suicide, or knows someone who is, refer them to:

http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/

Some thoughtprovoking things and resources on there: "Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain."

When you constantly look into the deeper meanings of life and analyze where everything is at, there's lots of things most people don't notice that are pretty crummy about life. It's sad to see that often the most thoughtful, intelligent, kind people have the weight pile up on their shoulders. when I get to know people, sometimes I ask questions most people find to be taboo. One thing I realized - a lot, if not most truly transcendent thinkers contemplate suicide at some point. And it's a damn fucking shame when it happens.

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"Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain" makes sense to me. But the page fails, I think, to address the fact that external resources are needed for coping, period. And I don't just mean a listening ear, which can be hard enough to find, or a psychotherapist. No, sometimes you really do need people to do tangible things, like give you a car or force someone violent out of your life or treat your medical problem or take care of your baby--without sucking you into a nightmare of paperwork and barely functional social services.

Everyone, except perhaps Grizzly Adams, needs other people. Some days you need a new client for your Rails expertise. Some days you need a plumber. You need those guys who stock the grocery store in the middle of the night. And you need real life friends. Friends who don't sap your energy or tell you what to think. Friends who will scrounge up a car for you.

Edit addendum: Hillary used to say, "It takes a village to raise a child." Yeah, whatever. What I'm trying to say is, it takes a community for thriving and emotional health. And don't let Ayn Rand tell you otherwise. There's no shame in hitting a point where you can't "produce" and you need help from others. You're not self-made. No one is. And a person who needs help is not a loser. Or a "looter."

I looked at the page. Unfortunately, it would not have helped me during the brief time I felt suicidal. Knowledge of fundamental evolutionary facts changes one's perspective about things, such as the statement "some part of you still wants to live"--which then becomes not an argument, but an obvious, irrelevant fact.

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