50 Inspiring Suicide Prevention Quotes To Help You Or Loved Ones
For anyone who's hanging on by a thread, there is hope.
Everyone gets sad sometimes. But if you (or someone you love) are severely depressed, you know it's more than just feeling sad.
Sometimes, people get to the point of not wanting to live. Sadly, people may consider turning to suicide when they feel they have no other options. If you or someone you know is at this point, it's time to seek outside help.
As you do, we want to remind you that things really do get better, even though, sometimes, it seems impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
If you have contemplated suicide, or even survived an attempt to commit suicide, don't be ashamed. You're not weak — you're strong. And you will get through this.
Getting a little help from someone who isn't yourself can be exactly the thing you need to keep going, even when you don't feel the desire to live anymore.
For immediate help, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 to speak with someone who knows exactly what you're going through. Call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or text "HELLO" to 741741 to be connected with the Crisis Text Line.
Your mental health is important. If you have a loved one that's having a tough time, or if you need just a little boost yourself, read on. These quotes will remind you this is not the end of the road — there are better, brighter, happier days ahead.
50 Powerful and Inspiring Suicide Prevention Quotes
1."The real reason for not committing suicide is because you always know how swell life gets again after the hell is over." — Ernest Hemingway
2. "Grit your teeth and let it hurt. Don't deny it, don't be overwhelmed by it. It will not last forever." — Rabbi Harold Kushner
3. "If you’re going through hell, keep going." — Winston Churchill
4. “Suicide does not end the chances of life getting worse, suicide eliminates the possibility of it ever getting better.” — Kat Calhoun
5. “Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them — every day begin the task anew.” — Saint Frances de Sales
6. “If your heart is still beating, God Is not done with you yet.” — Dillon Burroughs
7. "The pain passes, but the beauty remains." — Pierre August Renoir
8. "Hope is a necessity for a normal life and the major weapon against the suicide impulse." — Karl A. Menninger
9. “The bravest thing I ever did was continuing my life when I wanted to die.” — Juliette Lewis
10. “There is a hero inside of you. You are the main character in an epic struggle between good and evil. Let’s travel to the dark places of grief together and climb out, where we can see the bigger picture.” — Marie White
11. "When I was 14, I came very close to becoming a gay teen suicide 'statistic,' but I then turned to music, my piano, my loved ones, and discovered that it does in fact get better." — Blake McIver Ewing
12. “All things are difficult before they are easy.” — Thomas Fuller
13. “To anyone out there who’s hurting — it’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help. It’s a sign of strength.” — Barack Obama
14. “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.” — Dr. Howard Thurman
15. "Place your hand over your heart, can you feel it? That is called purpose. You’re alive for a reason so don’t ever give up." — Joyce Meyer
16. "Think of all the beauty that’s still left in and around you and be happy!" — Anne Frank
17. “When you feel like giving up, just remember the reason why you held on for so long.” — Hayley Williams
18. “Soak up the views. Take in the bad weather and the good weather. You are not the storm.” — Matt Haig
19. “Time is continuous and whatever is happening right now will soon become the past. You have been through trying times before and not only survived them but thrived because of them, and you will again. Right now, there is a world of possibilities which can be harnessed to help you thrive again.” — Michael Nulty
20. “Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.” — Tori Amos
21. “One day you will get more than what you could have ever perceived in the most wildest of your dreams; as you selflessly diffused the same; to all those brutally strangulated in the dormitories of unbelievably merciless agony. And that day was invincibly sure to come in yours and every benevolent entity’s life; so keep optimistically conceiving and working towards that day; don’t lose hope; don’t yet die.” — Nikhil Parekh
22. “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” — Phil Donahue
23. “The person who completes suicide dies once. Those left behind die a thousand deaths, trying to relive those terrible moments and understand... why?” — Unknown, often attributed to Clark (2001)
24. "When it is darkest, we can see the stars." — Ralph Waldo Emerson
25. "There are far, far better things ahead than anything we leave behind." — C.S. Lewis
26. “But in the end, one needs more courage to live than to kill himself.” — Albert Camus
27. “The key to getting beyond your struggles is making choices that invite new possibilities — new ways of thinking, feeling, behaving, and living your life for the better.” — Michael Nulty
28. “Suicide is a serious thing. And if you know anyone who is suicidal, you need to get them help. No one should be in pain. Everyone should love themselves.” — Gerard Way
29. “You can either be crushed by horrific events and lose your sanity, your family, and your life. Or, you can take this pain that was thrust upon you, to propel into greatness. You can make it through this. I know it’s hard.” — Marie White
30. “When people kill themselves, they think they’re ending the pain, but all they’re doing is passing it on to those they leave behind.” — Jeannette Walls
31. “This life. This night. Your story. Your pain. Your hope. It matters. All of it matters.” — Jamie Tworkowski
32. “Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'” — Maru Anne Radmacher
33. "Suicide doesn’t end the chances of life getting worse, it eliminates the possibility of it ever getting any better." — Unknown
34. “Anyone desperate enough for suicide should be desperate enough to go to creative extremes to solve problems: elope at midnight, stow away on the boat to New Zealand and start over, do what they always wanted to do but were afraid to try.” — Richard Bach
35. “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” — Harriet Beecher Stowe
36. “If you want to show me that you really love me, don’t say that you would die for me, instead stay alive for me.” — Unknown
37. “Never, never, never give up.” — Winston Churchill
38. “Because if you kill yourself, you’re also going to kill the people who love you.” —Unknown
39. “No, you aren’t alone. Yes, we all feel this way sometimes. No, you won’t always feel like this. Yes, the world is a better place with you in it.” —Unknown
40. “Did you really want to die? No one commits suicide because they want to die. Then why do they do it? Because they want to stop the pain.” — Tiffanie DeBartolo
41. “There was a moment in my life when I really wanted to kill myself. And there was one other moment when I was close to that... But even in my most jaded times, I had some hope.” — Gerard Way
42. “When you are tempted to give up, your breakthrough is probably just around the corner.” — Joyce Meyer
43. "The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us." — Voltaire
44. "Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle." — Christian D. Larson
45. "Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start now and make a brand new ending." — Carl Bard
46. "I hope you live a life you are proud of. If you find that you are not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again." — F. Scott Fitzgerald
47. "The harder the journey the more glorious the victory." — Melissa Dohme
48. "When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." — Franklin D. Roosevelt
49. "We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same." — Carlos Castaneda
50. "There is beauty in the journey, regardless of the outcome. Let's grieve and hope and fight together." — Marie White
Helen Luc is a frequent contributor to YourTango. Her writing focuses on love, relationships and pop-culture topics.