There are a number of us here who at one time or another have felt suicidal, and several of us who are survivors of one or more actual attempts.

But let me state the obvious.

No matter how hopeless things feel, there are usually better choices than death.

Because once you're dead, you never get a chance to see the future, and it can be a lot better than you might think.

I'm living proof of this - if I had succeeded in killing myself several years ago, I would have missed out on all the progress I'm making now.

One thing we know about suicide is that often people feel better once they have decided to take their lives, and that's because they are in a sense taking control of their choices. But that means there is an opportunity to do something with that control other than surrendering.

The key is to realize that if you feel like you have nothing to lose by dying, you also then have nothing to lose by attempting to change your life in radical ways.

So instead of, for example throwing yourself off a bridge, you can keep walking across that bridge, and just keep walking.

Make a brand new life for yourself, what exactly would you have to lose?

So let me end by saying if you feel like dying, maybe its time to start living.

But chances are you're not going to be able to do that alone, so please reach out for help.

Here are some links to resources:

U.S. crisis lines: http://suicidehotlines.com/national.html

Canadian Crisis lines: http://www.suicidehotlines.com/canada.html

U.K. help: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Suicide/Pages/Getting-help.aspx

International crisis lines: http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html

And I hope it goes without saying that you can ask for help here, and there are many of us who will do what we can for you.

Please take care of yourselves, okay?