Is there a specific term for wanting to end your life but not die?
As in, wanting to cease living your current life and not have any more responsibilities or problems, and essentially end your session as a living human being, but without actually dying?
For anyone in the US who needs it, the Suicide Prevention Hotline can be reached by call or text at 988. You don't have to be having active suicidal ideation to call them. Passive suicidal ideation is often a warning sign or an attempt at coping when life is too much, and they can get you connected with resources near you.
There are also Warmlines available in most states, which are for when you need someone to talk to, but may have passive suicidal ideation (rather than active), just want to get some things off your chest, or just want to talk to another human being for a while.
Thank you for actually mentioning the existence of warmlines. They are not commonly mentioned for people.
There are also specific resources and call lines for an individual depending on their history, such as for those who require ASL or those who are trans.
Yes. I'm not a mental healthcare provider and oddly there seems to be a little bit of variance depending on who you're talking to, but I think the best way to separate the two is this (SI = suicidal ideation):
Passive SI: wanting something to end your life; examples:
"I wish I was dead"
"I want to go to sleep forever"
"I wish I could just disappear"
"It would be nice if I got into a car accident or something and it killed me"
Active SI: thoughts of dying from your own actions, including:
planning the act
making accommodations for others when you're gone
"daring" or testing yourself to see if you'll actually do it
speculating on a time and place
giving away personal belongings
fearing that you might do it
If you're having SI of any type the best thing you can do is see a therapist, but obviously if it is dire or an emergency then a hospital is the answer. There are other treatment options at levels in between seeing a therapist weekly and going to a hospital that many people don't know about (and a a surprising number of doctors don't tell you about) that insurance should cover.
I have a lot of personal experience with this stuff and I'm happy to answer anything anyone is curious about.
Thank you. Unfortunatelly, I have personal experience with thos stuff too. It's always nice to be able to understand ourselves a bit better. I wish the theme was more studied and had less stigma.