Ask HN: Alternatives to Suicide?

(Please folks, I have a great respect for therapists, as well as other secular forms of help. There are many wonderful aspects to people and organizations even if they are completely opposed to the church. This comment is not to the contrary of any form of help. Nor is it prescribing any beliefs or ethics upon anyone.)

OP - the Eastern Orthodox Church is a mystical religious organization who claims to have preserved the true teachings of Christ. Do not throw the first stone. Do not judge lest you be judged. Love your neighbour. Many people of all faiths aspire to live this way. I would say the Eastern Orthodox Church is a reliable place to find people who take the teachings seriously.

There is a great love for monasticism in orthodoxy. One famous monastery in Arizona St Anthony's. There is an idea "Every home is a monastery". We celebrate monks regularly during services and many people visit monasteries regularly.

I recently joined this church not having been raised in any church. After many attempts of trying to identify what's missing in my life - relationship, school, work, drugs - I reached a point of total desperation, and then after reading lots of spiritual books I found the orthodox church.

I'm very sorry to hear of your struggles. I hope you can find some help or meaning in this horrible time. I normally would not share this info because in 99% cases it makes things worse. You are asking for radical options and mentioned becoming a monk, so this time I'll bite.

If I may attempt to be encouraging for you in this difficult time. It's a sign of strength to be exploring radical options. To me it means you won't settle for a common trope that you know won't help. Not bending to common sense can get you in trouble sometimes, but I believe it's also the only way to the real truth.

Talking to a therapist will help as other tell you. But if you don't have access or resist to going to one:

-Find the cheapest private room with private bathroom apartment nearby. If you are in a big city in the U.S., they cost anywhere from $600 to $1200.

-Organize your room, organize your daily habits. Easy to say but keeping your room clean and laundry folded makes a huge difference.

-Organize your budget. Even if you are in debt, seeing what can be fixed will help. It is not entirely about your income. You can make $1000 working part time and still survive in the U.S. if you lower your expectations. Cut all the bullshit expense (hulu, netflix, spotify, starbucks etc.) and save every single dollar.

-Learn to calm your brain. Something like this can get you started. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOJTbWC-ULc I also listened to binaural beats for many months while meditating.

-Wake up early. Have organized sleep. Brain chemistry will be affected by your sleep dramatically.

-Do not interact with your negative friends.

-Eliminate loud noises around you. Human or non-human. Quiet environment means a calmer state of mind.

-Stop eating sugar. It is a drug.

-If you are smoking weed or another substance, they are not helping and cause you to think on overdrive with an altered state of mind.

-Finding a hobby helps. If you have a few dollars buy a drone, a 3d printer, a computerized telescope or whatever makes you entertain. Do it more organized than before. Even write about it on a blog or start a youtube channel about it.

-Cook your own food. When you shop, do not buy things because they will make you healthy etc. Buy only the things you eat and improve your eating habits gradually. I had so many lettuce and cabbages in the fridge with molds on them.

-Do no read the news for a while. News are for clicks and attention. World goes on without your news knowledge anyway. It will just frustrate and give you negative thoughts.

-Listen to music, preferably EDM. Don't listen to depressing emo stuff. They don't help your mind.

-Buy comfortable clothing. I am always wearing soft non-restrictive stuff (jogging pants, comfy shoes, tshirt + hoodie is a good style IMHO).

There are many more but I just looked around me to remember the things helped me and still helping.

Talking to anonymous people on the Internet is very likely not enough, as you already stated.

Again, I think you should talk to a professional and finding such a hotline - wherever you live - hopefully should not be that difficult.

A hotline call (where available) can avert an immediate crisis but is not able to address underlying challenges. Recovery needs extended time with mental healthcare professionals. All indications are that most of Earth's population doesn't have access to that. For them, the advice of "Just Go Get That Free Help" isn't helpful.

I'm not saying we shouldn't help. I'm saying that assuming they have access isn't helpful - unless we actually know they do.

To be helpful, we need to ask if they know of services in their area. If they don't know, we can offer to look if they're willing to share their general location. If we strike out (not unlikely), we can learn more about them and their region - see if some obscure solution can be unearthed.

It takes time to provide the help that folks actually need.

(note: Evidence that most of our 7.8 billion have reasonable access to usable mental healthcare is absolutely welcome).