since the death of Dr. Oji Alllwell,I've read a lot of people's view about suicide, to say the least I was disappointed on how some perceived it,some called him coward and all sorts of name, I was also happy that it opened some people's eyes about depression, something that is fast penetrating deep in our society.
I'm a 22 years old boy, I'm a sick cell patient too, I grew up in a broken home, we were six in my family, 2 died at infancy from the same disease, I was the only on
left having it as others are healthy.
my father remarried after the divorce, and never bothered about us, to him we never existed or part of him..mum did everything to make sure we had a good life, we went to one of the best schools in my neighborhood.
It all started when I was 14,mum came back from home crying, to cut the story short, she lost her job that day, anxiety became the other of the day as she constantly worried on how she'll raise us, few months later she suffered from stroke and miraculously recovered, my two elder brothers were involved in an accident on their way back from school (a boarding) they were totally burnt beyond recognition, it was a painful death.
my mother became a shadow of herself, she could rarely remember things let alone care for us, her health was deterioriating each day,I watched my once glorious mother turn to a.shadow of herself,I was just 15,I had to assume role and provide for us at least to eat, the future was despsiringly bleak, there's was no whatever hope, no help from anywhere,I worked as a sales boy to take care of my own health, I was often lost in thought on how we can get back on our feet,from sadness I was totally depressed, yet a laughed, smiled, I couldn't watch them to see me sad, depression isn't always sadness, it is feeling of emptiness, anger, tiredness or loneliness. sometimes a cry for help isn't so visible..I attempted suicide 3 times, was lucky caught on each mission, after the third time a man provided help for me, I was treated,it didn't really go away I just learned to manage it.
Before you compare yourself with a person plagued by suicidal thoughts, remember that what makes "A" lose only a night's sleep, may tip the sanity balance of "B". You may feel you've weathered or still weathering financial storm and if you weren't suicidal, someone who is financially stable has no excuse. The bane of your existence may be financial instability while the bane of someone else may be loneliness. Your financial instability is not superior to someone else's loneliness just because you don't understand why or how a rich person can be lonely or why loneliness should even be a problem. The rich individual who sees you miserable because of financial strangulation, may not understand why you should be miserable. After all, you are surrounded by friends and family, the very thing he craves. Some will even be willing to give out all the cash they have just to get someone who genuinely cares about them and will always be by their side to vanquish loneliness. I know the economy is hard but don't cloud your judgment with that. Suicide isn't always about money, on the contrary, suicide among wealthy people are quite common because they've seen it all and done it all, so life has lost its meaning. They easily fall into depression and if not properly handled, they become suicidal.
If you still feel justified comparing your struggle with that of a person suffering mental health challenges, the very fact that you are mentally balanced should be enough to stop the comparison. You can never know what it feels like to suffer mental illness unless you go through it yourself. I implore us to be more empathetic and sympathise with those suffering mental health issues, rather than be flippant with our words. I know some people play the "suicide card" just to whip up sympathy or get attention but let's err on the side of caution by giving them the benefit of the doubt, just in case. If out of 10 people, 9 are faking it, saving the life of the one who is really ill is worth the trouble.

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hmmm

Wowzer! Pele darling...this is so deep. Indeed, people respond differently to situations. May God remove mountains from us or give us the strength to climb them as the case may be. It is well.

@op: this is a deep and thought-provoking writeup. At your young age you have experienced a lot of heartache. I am much older than you and I don't think I would have had the strength to deal with all you have had to face. My fervent prayers and well wishes to you. I pray you one day find happiness , love and success. Please keep on hanging in there and when you feel down, talk to someone. Please don't ever attempt suicide again.

I totally disagree. There is nothing worse than not having money.
All the other problems are very easily dealt with if you have money.