‘Tonight I’m taking my life’: Teen talked out of suicide online

When a depressed teenager revealed he was planning to kill himself, online users worked together to save his life

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by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

Many people assume that online communities are full of Twitter trolls and bullies, belittling people and causing emotional harm.

But a community of Minecraft players on Reddit have proven that this is absolutely not the case, taking to their keyboards to talk a teenager out of committing suicide.

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It began when Redditor NotARomanGuy - using the handle Caesar Octavius - said: "Tonight, I am taking my life.

"For the past eight years, I have felt and been inadequate. I have been unimportant, meaningless and worthless.

"No one loves me… I had a horrible argument with my parents today and my mother said she couldn't wait for me to be gone from her life."

He added: "No one will miss me, but let this serve as testimony to everyone.

"Ask someone who doesn't talk much how they are doing and truly mean it… I hope that none of you have to go through what I have."

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Via Reddit
Via Reddit

After writing the post, messages of support flooded in for the troubled teen, with users telling him how much they'd enjoyed playing Minecraft with him online - and others sending personal artwork to show they cared.

One wrote: 'People do care. I like you, you're a cool guy."

At one point over 83 people jumped into the community's TeamSpeak room — software that allows users to voice conference through an Internet connection — to help persuade NotARomanGuy not to go through it.

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In a separate post, several members of the r/SuicideWatch subreddit also talked with NotARomanGuy.

Thankfully their concerns and efforts paid off; hours later, an overwhelmed NotARomanGuy revealed that he was feeling better and would be seeking help.

Via Reddit

"I just want to say thanks to everyone from the community. Last night was what I hope was the first step to recovery.

"I obviously wasn’t cured or freed from all the thoughts I have in one night, but the people, their overwhelming support, they opened my eyes; showed me that some people really do care, no matter how it may seem."

He added that he would be taking a break from gaming for a while and would be seeking help for his problems.

As revealed on the Pride Of Britain Awards 2014, suicide is the biggest killer of young men; in the UK alone, 13 will commit suicide each day.

Thanks to the efforts of those Reddit users, that number was one less over the weekend.

For emotional support contact Samaritans on 08475 909090.

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