I Almost Died From a Suicide Attempt
No Way Out
By Darrin Ballard as told to T. Suzanne Eller
I still remember that night like it was yesterday. I worked at the mall and left around 10:00 p.m. I said good-bye to my friends and headed for the two-bedroom trailer that I now called home. Little did my friends know that my good-bye had a whole different meaning. I decided that I would take my own life, the worst decision of many bad choices I had already made.
What makes a person choose to commit suicide? I was one of those people that said life could never get that bad, that things could never be so horrible that they are beyond repair. I wasnt committing suicide because my life was out of control but rather because I was tired of fighting and losing a personal battle. I felt like there was no other way out.
It started five years before. I was in seventh grade. I met this guy. He was cool, funny, and he never seemed to mind having teenagers at his house at all hours. The first time I was in his home, I noticed a couple of movies on top of his television. I dont remember the titles, but I popped one in. It was basically soft porn.
Shortly after that, he took all of us to a youth convention. One night he assembled the guys together in his room and rented an X-rated movie. I watched, intrigued by what I saw. From that time on, I was hooked. I lied and deceived to get my hands on pornography. I craved it. Doctors say that the portion of your brain that can become addicted to heroin is the same part that functions when addicted to pornography. They also say that porn is as hard to shake as heroin.
I believe that, because that is how it felt to me.
Every Sunday and Wednesday, I heard our senior pastor say that behavior like mine was wrong. I was in total inner conflict. I knew that I could never be good enough to please God, yet I was so afraid of missing God that I continued to go to church.
I was alone. I couldnt tell anyone how I felt or what I was going through. How could anyone understand? I knew that everyone would look down on me. I hated who I had become. I hated me.
Things steadily deteriorated. I moved out of the house when I was only a junior. My relationship at home had not been good for a very long time. I was raised in a religious home, but the abuse and words that were spoken behind closed doors were very different from the front everyone else saw.
I worked full-time and attended school. I thought moving out would solve my problems, but it just made things worse. I was now more isolated than ever, and yet I had all kinds of friends. Have you ever been in the middle of a crowd and still felt lonely? Then you understand how I felt.
I changed churches and found one with caring people, but I still had a skewed view of Christianity. I lived a double life, wanting God, searching for God, and yet hiding my sin.
One night at church, a youth sponsor asked me to move in with her family. I didnt realize it then, but God sent them to me to be my guardian angels. They let me move in and treated me as if I were a family member. They tried to reach me with love, but I managed to keep a wall up between us.
You see, I was still living my secret life. I didnt want them to know how dirty I felt all the time. I hated the way that pornography made me feel, and yet I was always looking for my next fix.
Other than that, things seemed to be looking up. I had a beautiful girlfriend. I worked at a decent job. But it was hard keeping the porn part of my life separate, so after I graduated from high school I moved out of their house and into a trailer.
It didnt take long for things to fall apart. I was caught in more and more lies. I made several terrible financial decisions, and the debt piled up. My girlfriend and I broke up. I felt alone and worthless. I thought the only way I could deal with this was suicide.
When I arrived home that Tuesday night, I immediately wrote notes to all the people I loved. I made sure every detail was in place. I lived by myself and didnt have to be at work until Saturday. By the time anybody missed me it would be too late.
It was 4:00 a.m. when I finished my suicide notes. I scrounged a can of cream soda from the refrigerator. I sat in a chair in the living room and methodically divided the pills into three groups of ten. I swallowed ten pills at a time, chasing them with several chugs of cream soda, and gagging. Then to make sure that I was successful, I followed that with a half a bottle of pills. I then lay down to sleep.
Do you believe in coincidences? I dont. The next morning at around 11:30 a.m., my ex-girlfriend, whom I hadnt seen in about three weeks, decided to stop by and see how I was doing. She called an ambulance, and I was rushed to the hospital. I dont remember the ambulance. I dont remember the rescue workers digging their knuckles into my sternum trying to wake me up. I dont even remember them putting in the catheter. I just remember sleeping.
When the doctors did all that they could do, they spoke with my parents. When they told my mom that she could see me, she turned to the pastor of my church and said, I love my son very much, but if he dies, I want to make sure that he is ready to go. Will you go in and pray with him?
Before my pastor came in, the nurse told my parents I had a 5% chance of living. If I did live, I could be in a vegetative state because of the damage to my liver. I remember my pastor coming in and saying that he was going to pray with me. I couldnt reply, but he wanted me to pray with him in my heart. I tried with all of my might to make the words come out, but they wouldnt. I felt like I was dead and attending my own funeral.
Shortly after that, my second mom came in to be with me. I remember her laying her head on my shoulder. She started weeping and quietly prayed for me. Though I couldnt say anything and couldnt open my eyes, the tears spilled down my face.
Hours later I woke up. There was black charcoal spewed all over the room where I had constantly puked up the medicine given intravenously to soak up the poison. My room was a mess. My gown was a mess. Once again I felt dirty, as if the mess on the outside revealed the filthiness on the inside.
The doctors said my recovery was a miracle. I left the hospital the next day. I was given three choices: I could be admitted into a mental hospital, I could live with my parents, or I could move back in with my second family.
Which one do you think I chose? I went home from the hospital that day and, literally mean, I went home. My second family welcomed me back but this time with new stipulations. They would love me unconditionally, but I had to be totally, brutally honest with them. I couldnt hide my feelings. I couldnt mask the battle of sin.
I knew it wasnt an equal trade because they would love me no matter what, but I wanted to be honest with them. I wanted to get better. I was tired of feeling the way I did, and here was a familya God-given familywho was willing to help me.
Another requirement was that I had to go to weekly counseling sessions with my Senior Pastor. Through these sessions, I discovered that not all people were like the guy who introduced me to porn. Little by little I progressed. My new family spent a lot of personal time crying with me and praying over me.
Things didnt immediately get better. In fact, they got worse the first few weeks after I left the hospital. The first week I backed into a family members car. Then the next week my car was repossessed. In spite of these incidents, I didnt feel like I used to feel.
I think it was because I was learning how to be honest. If I felt bad, I had to say that I felt bad. I couldnt put on a mask. If I lied, those around me gently made me speak the truth. It was hard, but soon I learned to be truthful with God, with other people, and with myself. That allowed me to let people into my life to help me and to hold me accountable.
Four years later, I look back and see where God has brought me. Did I get here overnight? No, it happened one baby step at a time. First was honesty. Second, I needed to understand that God had a plan for me. Third, I learned to look at life as a gift. Now I wake up each day and I know that Ive been given a second chance.
There was a time in my life that I felt trapped by my sin. I thought that I could never walk away from the things that were destroying my life. Now I understand Gods love, because He opened a door for me when I thought there was no way out.
PrayerDear Jesus, I want to share every detail of my life with you. I know you have plans for me. Forgive me for wearing a mask. Please help me to be honest with you, with myself, and with those who care about me.
Excerpted with permission of the author of Real Teens, Real Stories, Real Life (RiverOak).
Do you go to church anywhere? If not, find a church. Talk to the pastor and
tell him how you are feeling. But most of all, keep doing the next thing. I'm
not promising that you will not have losses, but keep praying, seeking God,
and His direction. Keep your head high in this storm and one day, it will pass.
The sun will shine again. And this dark period of your life will be behind you.
There is hope Jeremiah 29: 11 - 13 says "For I know the plans I have for
you, declares the Lord,...plans to give you hope and a future.... You will seek
me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Keep seeking, keep walking, and God will see you through this.
In the meantime, please go get a check up from your doctor and tell him how
you are feeling. If you think you are at risk for suicide, please go to the
hospital or call 911. Do not do anything to harm yourself, you are going to
make it. A really good book on this is Where is God When it Hurts by Phillip
Yancey. God is going to see you through this dear one. Please, please do not
do anything to hurt yourself.
You are going to make it. I'm praying for you. God is going to see you through this dear one. Please, please do not do anything to hurt yourself. Wait on God. In the meantime, if thoughts of suicide get too heavy, go to the hospital or call 911. Call your doctor as well.
Here's what I recommend to you:
1. We need other believers for encouragement. Find a church home. See if you can find a small Bible study of people in your age range. Call some of the bigger churches in your area and see if they have anything to offer for your age group. This could be a home Bible study or a Sunday school class. CLICK ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TO FIND A CHURCH: Evangelical Free Church, Lutheran ELCA , any , any , Presbyterian , any Christian , Assemblies of God , Mennonite , any Bible believing , for travelers , Christian , Methodist ,
2. Listen to inspirational music. There's a lot of Christian music in
different styles. Maybe you've got a great Christian radio station in your area
or maybe you can find one on the web that plays a style of Christian music that
speaks to you like http://www.klove.com/listen/.
You can also go to a Christian bookstore and listen to their CDs until you find
something that helps you to feel worshipful.
3. Take time to read the Bible. If you don't have a Bible, there are versions available on the web that you can download. Gospel Book of John
4. Read the book, Purpose Driven Life. This is a great Bible study and you need to have the Word in your life every day.
5. Take our New Believer Bible Study. CLICK HERE: What do you do next?
6. Read the instant download, Grief Relief.
7. Listen to free, encouraging downloads at www.BestCDDownloads.com
Don't do anything to harm yourself. You are so loved. Please give your situation
time, please allow God time to move. He may be waiting for you to give in to
Him, to say, God I will trust you, no matter what. Try trusting God and see
what will happen.
Also, please go in for a medical checkup and tell your doctor about how you feel emotionally. Your doctor may have medications that can help you get over this 'bump' in the road.
Also, I highly recommend counseling. You may find a pastor in your church or other local church or some other professional who will understand and help you with your struggles.
WE ARE PRAYING FOR YOU!
Blessings,
Linda
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MORE LETTERS:
To:
If Only My Life Could Be Different
To:
Teen Girl
To: Teen Boy
To: I Almost
Died From a Suicide Attempt
To: Discouraged
Man
To: Discouraged
Woman
To: Wife of
Unfaithful Husband
To: Husband
of Unfaithful Wife
To: I'd
be better off Dead
To: Unwed Teen
Mom
To: I
Can't Feel God's Presence
To:
I'm still in love with my remarried Ex.
To: Discouraged
Pastor
To: I Lost My
Job
To: I Do What
I Shouldn't
To: I'm
Addicted to Porn
To: God Doesn't Hear or Help me
To: My Children
Would be Better Off Without Me
To: I Feel
Overwhelmed
To: My mother
does not love me.
To: If I Commit
Suicide, Will I Go To Hell?
To: My Friend
Won't Speak to Me.
To: I Need
Prayer
To: God Has
Forgotten Me?
To: How Can
I Tell My Parents I'm Depressed?
To: I am Angry
at Myself!
To:
I have Anorexia.
To: My
Parents Won't Let Me Attend Church
To: Life
Stinks!
To:
Help, Others Make Fun of Me!
To:
What If I Belong to the Devil?
To:
I Can't Quit Thinking About Suicide.
To:
I Betrayed Someone!
To: Getting
'Saved' Will Not Stop Someone From Committing Suicide
To:
I Betrayed Someone!
To:
Someone Betrayed ME!
To:
I'm not sure I really know God.
To:
I am SO Depressed.
To:
I have BOY trouble.
To:
I have GIRL trouble.
To:
I hooked up with my boyfriend, then
he left/betrayed me.
To:
I May Have Committed the Unpardonable
Sin
To: I am Afraid
P.S.S. If you are at risk to harm yourself, please go to the hospital, call
911, or call
Suicide Helpline:
1800 - SUICIDE
Suicide Prevention Hotline:
1-800-827-7571
National Suicide Hotline:
1-888-248-2587
Also, note there is live, free, Christian counseling available through the wonderful people at New Hope.
You can call: 714 NEW-HOPE (639-4673)
or go directly to their web site and chat live at:
http://www.newhopenow.org/counseling/liveperson.html
Instant Download: Grief Relief
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