I have to admit I'm somewhat of a veteran when it comes to thinking about suicide. It's been off and on my mind for the past 30+ years as I struggled with a severe case of ME/CFS. During this time, I've read many discussions on an ME/CFS forum about it. Because of how debilitating and isolating CFS can be, a number of members on the forum did eventually commit suicide.
I had a fairly memorable dream about three years ago which I shared on that forum, and some of the insights I felt I'd gained from it. Thought I'd paste it below for anybody who might be interested. Much of it applies to my current thinking toward this recent onset tinnitus of mine. A couple of questions that were always paramount for me as I contemplated the pros and cons of making such a fateful decision were:
1) Is it in my spiritual interests to commit suicide?
2) I'm I going to be better off if I did so?
Quite honestly, though there were some very low moments when I tried to believe the answer to either one or both of those questions was yes, I could never believe it with a high degree of confidence. I would generally end up thinking that until I did have that high degree of confidence, I was likely be better off trying to address my challenges here as opposed to "there". -- Here's my dream experience:
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I was driving down a road in a somewhat rural area near where I live. At some point, I decide my trip would be more interesting if I get out of my vehicle, and start walking. After a short while, I come to an intersection that leads to the interstate highway only a half mile away. That seemed even more interesting to me, and had me hearkening back to some of my younger days when I had done some hitchhiking. Ahhh, the open road...Freedom!
But then I got a nagging feeling. What about the vehicle I had left parked just off the road? No sooner did I have that thought, when I realized the vehicle was actually a rental, and that I had certain obligations that I couldn't just walk away from. So with a certain sense of resignation [but knowing I'm doing the right thing], I start heading back toward the rental vehicle.
As I was sharing this dream with my wife, I mentioned I wasn't sure how to interpret it at first, but as the morning wore on, it became pretty clear to me. Before I could share that "clarity", she busted out laughing–she knew exactly what this dream was portraying. She's long known I have many dreams with a vehicle in it, and that it's the primary symbol for my body. That the vehicle in this dream was a rental reflected that when I accepted this body for this lifetime, I accepted the responsibilities associated with this rental. — One would be--in my mind--not to abandon it.
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To me, not abandoning the rental vehicle in my dream is analogous to not committing suicide. My wife and I have talked about how difficult it is for me to live in a body that is burdened with ME/CFS. I've told her that if my health doesn't improve–and if I was offered a spiritual choice–I would likely choose to depart this world sooner than later. But I also made clear that my preference is to live a full life, and that I would continue to do whatever I could to improve my health. I even resolved to be careful about the thoughts I let linger within myself–realizing thoughts eventually manifest in one way or another. Despite this resolve, this dreaded illness still tests me on an ongoing basis. What's helped a lot is coming to understand how a couple of my greatest vulnerabilities can cause me to start thinking in terms of dying.
First, my entire electrical system is extremely vulnerable to sensory stimulation, especially loud noises. I had a brief exposure to an industrial chipper a few months ago that made my system extremely fragile for several days. During this time, I kept feeling, "I just want to die". Though it weighed heavily on me during this whole time, having the understanding this was primarily a physical and emotional response helped me navigate that difficult period. Doing various energy balancing techniques helps pull me out of these kinds of episodes. — Secondly, I've also come to understand that when I occasionally experience intense morning depression and anxiety–which leave me with similar feelings of wanting to die–that these feelings are caused primarily by my system being very toxic. – Doing regular coffee enemas to support detoxification alleviates most of this depression and anxiety.
Key for me when dealing with suicidal thoughts or tendencies is knowing that they're part and parcel of having this disease, and that they're probably going to come and go in varying degrees for as long as I have this disease, or I die of natural causes. Whether they're caused by toxicity, sensory stimulation, one of life's bumps that becomes magnified many times over because of a misfiring brain and neurological system–or whatever–just knowing that they're coming, as well as being confident they will also be leaving, prepares me for when they do arrive. A big factor for me is knowing I have successful strategies handy that always work to pull myself out of a down cycle. – What also helps is my firm belief that doing my best to overcome whatever struggles come my way helps my spiritually in the grand scheme of things.
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Regarding suicide from a spiritual perspective [for anybody who may be interested] — I personally believe in reincarnation, and my understanding is that suicide disrupts a natural rhythm of rest and "regrouping" that normally takes place between lifetimes. In the case of suicide, apparently Soul is normally sent back for rebirth almost immediately, with little to no preparation time (or rest). The reason for this "fast track" approach is to give Soul another opportunity to face the challenges it attempted to avoid. The lack of preparation however often makes the following lifetime more difficult than the one that was just left behind. — If this scenario is accurate, then someone's belief or hope that ending a lifetime will end their suffering may not necessarily be the case.
Getting back to my dream, I look at the body we inhabit at any given time as somewhat of a rental. Like other material things that may come our way, it's on loan to us for a finite period of time, and our responsibility is to use it to the best of ability to achieve certain spiritual goals. My own analogy is we're all here on Earth to smooth out some of our rough edges–perhaps similar to the eons of time water from the sea smooths out the rocks and stones on its shoreline. It's a polishing of Soul that takes time. But being optimistic by nature, I adhere to an adage I once read, "The wheels of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly well".
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I'm a bit hesitant to make this post because I have total respect for everybody else's beliefs, and don't want to come across in a manner other than that. With this post, I mostly wanted to share that I believe my own physical and emotional feelings of sometimes "wanting to die" are caused by very specific things going on in my body, and are completely separate from my spiritual instincts to live and flourish. Being able to differentiate between the two has been incredibly helpful for me. For anybody who's had thoughts of suicide [who here hasn't at some point], I truly believe various coping methods that are unique to us individually can be discovered, and then utilized during times of crisis.
Living with ME/CFS continues to be extraordinarily challenging for me on many fronts, and often feels like it's almost more than I can handle. Though I often falter, my goal and resolution is to live as gracefully with these challenges the best I can—and part of that resolve is to never rush into a fateful decision when things are feeling bleak.