[peterburkimsher]

Rather than pretending suicide isn't an option, putting it in its rightful last place is helping me manage my emotions. I'm a conscientious objector. If someone gives me a gun and tells me to shoot someone else, I'd rather turn it upon myself than kill another person.

Life sucks. Right now I'm going through a really tough time. So bad that I wanted to Shut Down. But instead I chose to Reboot. Got a plane ticket, flew on Wednesday, and now I'm 10,000 km from the problems and very relieved. I really, really hope that I can find a new job and restart life soon - my savings won't last more than a couple of months. But this is an emergency.

If it doesn't work out, becoming a monk is another possibility to retreat from the world. And if that doesn't work out, then perhaps prison. And extremely dangerous career choices, such as war zone photography. Bad circumstances will drive me to those first, before I'd hurt myself. If you're not afraid of death, you're fearless! You're free! That courage can be used to help people. Please try that first.

For people wanting to help, don't ask "What happened?" - that focuses on the problem. Say "Are you OK?", "What can I do to help you?" if you care about the solution.

[throwaway8879]

I didn't get the chance to reboot, it was more like a hard reset. Good luck, friend. :)