A man in Singapore sparked concern online after sharing that he finds himself looking forward to dying, though he clarified that he is not suicidal.
His Reddit post on Monday (23 March) prompted netizens to rally around him with advice about burnout, mental health, and finding purpose in life.
In an anonymous post, the 36-year-old man said he is married with no children, owns a dog, and described his life as “comfortable”.
However, he admitted that intrusive thoughts have been making him question himself.
Source: Kari Alfonso on Canva. Image for illustration purposes only.
He wrote that he is “not suicidal” but feels like he would be ready to die after his parents pass away, as he believes people around him would eventually move on.
“Wife? I think give it a couple [of] years, maybe she’ll be sad, and then she’ll probably just move on,” he said in the post.
He added that a younger him imagined life would be more enjoyable.
But instead, it has become a vicious cycle of “work, sleep, repeat”.
Source: cyano66 on Canva. Image for illustration purposes only.
In his post, he said that his workplace will likely “shut down without warning”.
The 36-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, told MS News that he is an engineer in a small local start-up tech company.
The current financial strain he feels also prevents him from living life “the way [he] imagined”.
“Travelling feels out of reach while the cost of living keeps going up,” he explained.
He added that the struggle to figure out his own life means that the idea of raising a child is out of the picture.
Image by MS News
“I feel like our culture still has a long way to go in being fully open to topics like this. There is little room for me to feel safe enough to talk about it,” he told MS News, explaining his decision to remain anonymous.
The OP added: “If I can’t openly talk about it without fear of judgment, how would I even start to know that this is something that I need to overcome?”
In the comments section, many netizens responded with supportive messages, lending advice and words of encouragement.
In response to a comment, the OP questioned the negative perception of death. He suggested that wanting agency over his own death is simply a “more subjective” take on the matter.
Source: CremateMyDreams on Reddit
Replying to another comment, the OP elaborate on his confusion.
He reiterates that despite his demise, he does not have any suicidal tendencies and functions relatively regularly.
Source: CremateMyDreams on Reddit
Others felt that the OP’s emotions were common due to not being able to live their ideal lives.
Source: CremateMyDreams on Reddit
If you or anyone you know needs support, do try calling these hotlines:
There are also other forms of support. For more information, visit SupportGoWhere or HealthHub’s MindSG.
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Featured image adapted from MS News.