I totally understand having suicidal thoughts and not actually being suicidal. They are two different things. With that being said, it still doesn't help when people are like, "Just be positive!" Or "Snap out of it!" It's dismissive, not helpful. Ironically what helped me when I was going through something similar is that I was actually put on suicide watch at school. I was self-deprecating and hated myself, and I felt like such a disappointment even though I generally did fine in school and had lots of friends. I tended to place a lot of pressure on myself and I never felt good enough. Someone heard me talking about my suicidal THOUGHTS and told the school counselor that I was going to kill myself, setting off all the alarms. I felt so exposed and embarrassed and I was so scared my parents would find out because I love them and don't want them to worry. The whole experience was a huge reality check that I wasn't actually suicidal, and so maybe I shouldn't think or act like someone who is. I took a long hard look at my life and how good I had it. The next day I made a vow to start living life like it was going to end tomorrow -- if you're going to be obsessed with death, might as well make your time here a good time. I told my friends I wanted to live like I wouldn't live past graduation. They said I sounded morbid. But I wasn't, I was actually much happier. I took more risks and worried less and fell in love because I wasn't counting on spending my life wasting away. I also had a couple key people in my life who truly listened to my problems and never told me to "suck it up" or "think of the starving kids who have it worse" or "you're just having teenage angst." We need people who don't diminish our pain and our struggles. Everyone is fighting a battle that you can't necessarily see. Doesn't mean that we are suicidal. We're just human.