Advice for a friend who wants to give up on life.

I have a friend who i care deeply for, who feels that ending her life will be a welcome release to all her suffering.

She has been through alot of unpleasant events that have piled up in her life to a point where she feels that she will never be happy. She has faced many failed relationships that have blown up in her face, to where now, she has no faith in people or her life.

Every new situation seems to bring even more drama and suffering, so now she would rather not do anything.

And when she is not doing anything, she is just as miserable.

She has endured so much suffering that suicide seems to be her only choice. I have tried talking her out of it, and i have tried giving what little wisdom and advice i have given her.

I have encouraged her to keep working towards happiness so long as she is living, that simply killing herself would have been a waste or otherwise positive opporotunities she could have had if she would just embrace them.

but i have run out of ideas and words of compassion. I still strongly wish her happiness, i want to help her by any means necessary, within reason.

Yet, i have exhausted my strategy.

What do you recommend? What should i do? what should she do?

Appreciation for those who respond.

 

It's not worth it to your family and friends and yourself because you can overcome this a become so great in life so you shouldn't throw it away

 

I must also add that she comes from a terrible family. And she really doesn't have any more friends now. In fact, recently, due to the spreading of rumours and hateful propaganda by some individuals with unkown and malicious motives, she has received alot of hate mail and death threats, even from people who dont know her.

 

Hare Krishna!

Dear Living Corpse,

It pains and makes me sad. Please tell her that we all love her and she should give up her wrong ideas of ending her life.

I can only suggest that your friend should be intelligent enough not think on her present lines and not to try anything stupid for some stupid and supposedly dirty guys. Broken relationships, love lost from some cannot be the end of the world for anybody.

Please tell your dear friend to open up her eyes and see that there is a deluge of love on this earth, and some misers should not be able to blind her about this fact.

The Sun is up there for everybody, please tell her not to confine herself in darkness, tell her to come out in the open to receive the light. Please believe that there is love on this earth for everybody, one has to find it, acknowledge and reciprocate.

Hope, this helps a little.

With lots of love and prayers for both of you,

Kumar.

 

I think that from a Buddhist point of view, suicide won't change a thing. Just swap one set of problems for another possibly worse set, because of the suicide.

As Hamlet said, "fear of something after death, that unknown country from whose bourne no traveller returns, puzzles the will, and make us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of"

 

Direct her to a shrink and do not avert her from taking an antidepressant. You should emphasize to her that her depression might be physical and that the world reflects our own mind. Therefore some mild antidepressant like Celexa can change her outlook even overnight making her available to other self help techniques. She must not commit suicide. That's just not an option and you should vow to make her understand that it's not an option. Helpdirect her to a shrink or at least a suicide prevention hotline. Buddhism doesn't disavow any useful technique to balance body/mind. Thus we will use wheatever means are available to benefit oneself and others towards producing a healthier karmic situation. Work quickly.

I fell into a deepening depression and I made a proactive choice to seek help from a shrink and it has made a tremendous improvement in my life. I am a Buddhist and I feel no adversity in having done so. May your friend be blessed and be removed froms harm's influence.

Pray for her health and joy.

 

I work with suicidal people and if she needs any extra help please remember that there's a crisis or suicide hotline in your area that may have access to resources. http://suicidehotlines.com/ You can use that link to find something in your region. Please let me know if I can be of any more help.