Dear Abby,

I want to echo the other responses and add that I often (once a day) ponder ways to feel or rather not feel anymore pain. When I read your post, I had to find some way to be able to articulate how important it is not to hurt yourself without sounding like a hypocrite. I am not the type of person who preaches to others or anything like that, but I had to consider two important realities of myself. One, I am grounded in my belief in Jesus. The second, is the stark realization that I have an obligation to not only myself and my dreams, but to those who depend and love me unconditionally. This is not to say that I do not forget this, in fact, since age 8, there has never been a single day in which I wanted to leave this world. I had to reason that these never-ending thoughts, feelings, and bad memories of the past are not my fault. So, why am I punishing myself? It is this question that I still struggle with after 20+ years. I hope that you will not continue to hurt or punish yourself. Finally, I want you to know that you are not alone. This is not a punch line, it is real. If there is anything I can do to support you, please let me know. God knows that I need help too.

Please take good care of yourself,

David (NewDawnFades)