# You get to change one personal decision

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-personal-decision/687376>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 30, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-personal-decision/687376 "2014-04-30T17:20:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Cognoscant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Cognoscant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cognoscant)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-personal-decision/687376/61 "2014-05-08T01:39:24Z")

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It sounds kind of stupidly obvious, but I wish I hadn’t attempted suicide three years ago. Because then I wouldn’t have been hospitalized (also stupidly obvious), which removed all of my sick days for that year, forcing me to go to work when I was physically ill, which eventually burned me out. And, since I was so burned out and depressed from bad advice given by a therapist who was assigned to me despite her specialty being in drug addiction–I didn’t even drink at the time–I decided to accept a promotion at the bad workplace I was at instead of accepting a better-paying job at another location, because I was so down I thought I’d bomb out there. I ended up working for a terror of a boss who worked me into the ground, and my depression blossomed into a full-blown case of bipolar disorder. And then…well, I’ve talked about it elsewhere here, but to make a long story short I ended up having to take a job 1500 miles away from my family to get out of the bad workplace.

There’s a direct line from my suicide attempt to the fact that I’m sitting here alone and depressed so far from home, hoping I can cure my bipolar with meds, miles, and writing. I knew from when it happened it wouldn’t lead to anything good, but I didn’t think it would be that bad.

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**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-personal-decision/687376/62 "2014-05-08T05:21:29Z")

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A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have cancelled that third date with a certain cute and charming members of the SDMB.

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**Author:** ![Tinkertoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@Tinkertoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinkertoy)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-personal-decision/687376/63 "2014-05-08T06:49:27Z")

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I wouldn’t have dropped out of school at 16 to marry the abusive alcoholic my mother convinced me was the best thing that could ever happen to me, and I shouldn’t expect better.

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