is it normal to not want to live?

Answer 1

No. It is apparently not normal. Depression can make you feel low or that there is no hope and never will be hope and that doom is looming over you all the time or just around the corner. But even with all of that it is apparently not normal to want to end it, to cease to exist.

Abraham Lincoln (my fav. depressive) validated my feelings with his comment about needing something to change because you feel you simply can not continue as you are. "I must die or be better." The lengthier quote goes something like: "I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family(race), there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better I can not tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better, it appears to me." But he was also able to say things like "You can not now realize that you will ever feel better. Is not this so? And yet it is a mistake. You are sure to be happy again. To know this, which is certainly true, will make you some less miserable now. I have had experience enough to know what I say; and you need only to believe it, to feel better at once."

Peter McWilliams wrote a number of books that I believe are all still available free online. I learned about dysthymia, which is a term for chronic persistent depression; some people think of it as 'chemical depression'. But the description he uses is "if depressions continues for most of the day, more days than not, for two years or more it's considered dysthymia."

Now David Burns MD created a depression checklist that is 25 questions you rate your feelings from 1-4, zero good 100 bad sort-of-thing and you get an idea of your level of depression. I bring this up because as a dysthymic person I was truly floored to learn that Dr. Burns considers 0-10 the normal range and ideally would like you at 5 or less most of the time. Now for some perspective, the first time I took it I didn't think I was very bad off at the time, just my normal melancholy -- depressed but not suicidal or anything and I got an 81! Out of 100! When ideally I'm supposed to be a 5!?!? As you can see my quality of living was dramatically different from 'normal'. If I was ever at a 10 or under I would have seemed completely manic and probably scared myself and others. lol But it has really helped me gain a perspective of the bigger picture and how much room I can move on the scale from where I am.

I've been working on what anti-depressant med combo works for me for years and I no longer live with that little black cloud following me everywhere. It really is like lifting a dark haze that affects the way you view everything.

Oh, I believe another good example that it is not normal could be found in THE SELFISH GENE by Richard Dawkins. I think you can probably understand that genetically we want for ourselves (we are genetically selfish in order to survive?) and I believe we live to want and want to live. So there's my 2 cents plus some.

Don't be afraid to talk to someone about how you feel. Try to look at life's hard knocks as learning experiences. I have always been facinated by why people don't give up when it seems hopeless? I think my personal hitting bottom created a "What can you do?" attitude and when my only two choices were to Lie down and Die or to Get Up and TRY AGAIN. I've always tried again. And I've learned and it did get better. But talk to people; some don't identify with having depressed feelings at all; some have had an occasional low period and can relate and almost all of us know someone we suspect of being terminally depressed or dysthymic. Good Luck.
Live well, laugh often & Love Much

Answer 2

When the "to be or not to be" line from Hamlet was written hundreds of years ago - some commentators have read it as a debate on suicide...not wanting to live any longer in this world. The thought has come to so many people trying to define why we are here and what we are doing here. Yes, it is normal to question our existance.

In the end, while it is normal to wonder these things, it is not normal to act upon the thoughts. No different than thinking that the bank could be robbed, but not going ahead and actually getting a gun and doing it.

Life is precious. While there are people that can drag you down - events that seem to take all the enthusiasm out, times for frustration, fear and pain.....we all have our gifts and talents we can bring to others. Maybe it is a simple thing you can do. Donate an earned dollar to feed a hungry African child - help a school, write a blog to help others, keeping active in your church... helping others that are also feeling the same.... but you have a value that is so great because everyone has potential.

Please smile a little smile for I am rooting for you. It may not be much, but there are millions of people out there that do not even have a computer to pose this question. You are lucky and have a gift having the PC to allow you to see the world on the computer.

Best to you.

Answer 3

It isn't an unusual feeling. Consider the number of individuals who attempt to "escape" by using drugs, alcohol or simply excessive sleep or work.
It is a feeling, and feelings are driven by our thoughts.
Just try to focus and ask yourself what it is you are trying to run away from. Don't let it chase into a dark hole! Give yourself a break, recoup and take it on! ~Best wishes sweetie.

Answer 4

no its not ..why?? are u hurting?? well my cousin killed herself over a guy in 2000 and she had a little boy and now he has to live without a mom..but i do miss her so damn much she was like my sister and best friend i hung out with her more then my sisters actually. and now shes gone..and hurt everyone that loved her.. my mom told me once that when u die in a few months u'll just be a memory.

u know everyone has to move on with their lives and when u kill urself u burn in hell for eternity and there's no coming back so please dont kill urself there really is a heaven and hell out there

Answer 5

i know tht wone to well maybe we should chat sometime. i just went through some really bad stuff and it would be nice to chat with someone in the same

Answer 6

I would definitely have to say NO to this one

Answer 7

no its not normal its probaly stress are depression

Answer 8

not really but we all go through that stage