To the People Who Stuck by Me After My Suicide Attempt

1. Thank you for seeing me at my worst and still loving me. I know it must have been incredibly difficult to see me like that. It was hard for me, too.

2. Thank you for never giving up on me, even when I gave up on myself. You are the reason I forced myself to stay alive after the second attempt.

3. Thank you for sitting up with me when I felt alone. I know it was probably hard talking to me in that state. I truly did appreciate your efforts.

4. Thank you for not seeing me as a lost cause. I looked in the mirror and saw nothing but wasted space and rotting potential. In my eyes, I was worth nothing, but through your eyes, I started to see myself as something.

5. Thank you for not making me talk about it before I was ready. I know you wanted to know what was going through my head when it happened. I know it was hard to comprehend why I tried to end my life.

6. Thank you for reminding me I am loved. The thoughts that always ran through my brain told me otherwise.

7. Thank you for joking around with me like you always did. I needed that hint of normality in my life when everything else was a mess.

8. Thank you for the extra hugs. I was never a big hugger, but looking back the hugs definitely brought a smile to my face.

9. Thank you for giving me some space when I needed it. I know it must have been hard to leave me alone when I was still in such a fragile state. You probably worried about what I might do to myself when I was alone, but I really did need my own space to heal.

10. Thank you for loving me more than I loved myself. Your love and support pushed me to keep breathing, to keep putting one foot in front of the other, to stay alive. I may not have loved myself enough to keep living, but my love for you kept me alive.

If you or someone you know needs help, visit our suicide prevention resources page.

If you need support right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text “START” to 741-741.

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Thinkstock photo via Liubov Marchuk