Authors: Ben <benulo@systemli.org>
Dated: 2020-12-07
gemini://gemlog.blue/users/left_adjoint/1607210852.gmi
There's a lot of Gemini posts that I simply skim through, but this one caught my attention the other day and I felt it warranted a heartfelt reply.
Of course, I will have to start by saying that I don't believe I have any suicidal tendencies, so this may limit my ability to relate, though I definitely try my best to relate. As far as mental health goes probably the things I've had to deal with most in my lifetime were depression and anxiety, tending a bit more towards anxiety. I'm thankful that they're (apparently) not bad enough to prevent me from functioning altogether, but they do interfere with that.
Have I ever entertained the thought of ending my own life? Yes, of course, and the thought of actually doing it is scary. It scares me enough to prevent me from thinking too much about it, which I guess might be how it is for most people. Even so, my heart goes out to our friend. I found the explanation very helpful and inisightful.
Recently I was playing a computer game called "Celeste" that raises some of these issues in a sensitive way. I think it's a game most people should play, because it has a sort of educational and maybe therepeutic value to it. It uses the medium of the video game to lead players though an experience, to show rather than just tell. For that reason I found it to be more impactful. Because I'm not sure the best way to describe it otherwise, I suggest readers check it out for themselves. There's probably also better articles written about it already than any I could write.