Yeah, they're really common; I remember discussing them in Intro Philosophy course in college. Most people have had a moment where they're in a situation that could lead to death and wonder "What if I..."
Thinking back to when I was 13 and suicidal, the big difference is that now, when I'm mentally healthy, it's a "What if I...?" thought, while back then it was an "I should..." thought. I remember looking out my front door at the traffic going by in the street and thinking "If I just run outside and into the road in front of a car, it'll all be over." And it was like I got tunnel vision, like that impulse was all the universe consisted of. It's like the article said, about thoughts tending toward concreteness.
I wonder, too, about how this relates to a another comment here about it being crucial to increase the physical time necessary to commit suicide. Our driveway was a good 160 feet long; I wonder if a major factor was that it'd take a good 15 seconds to run the length of it, and on some level I realized I'd chicken out before I got to the street. (I didn't get much farther than opening the door before thinking "What the hell am I doing?")
Thinking back to when I was 13 and suicidal, the big difference is that now, when I'm mentally healthy, it's a "What if I...?" thought, while back then it was an "I should..." thought. I remember looking out my front door at the traffic going by in the street and thinking "If I just run outside and into the road in front of a car, it'll all be over." And it was like I got tunnel vision, like that impulse was all the universe consisted of. It's like the article said, about thoughts tending toward concreteness.
I wonder, too, about how this relates to a another comment here about it being crucial to increase the physical time necessary to commit suicide. Our driveway was a good 160 feet long; I wonder if a major factor was that it'd take a good 15 seconds to run the length of it, and on some level I realized I'd chicken out before I got to the street. (I didn't get much farther than opening the door before thinking "What the hell am I doing?")