How the game works to find reasons to live
Choose your level
Define a realistic life circumstance or perspective you want to create—which indicates what “level” you are on.
“I am working on believing that things could get a little better and that I can find a supportive community.”
Decide which paths to take
Once you start a level, “crossroads,” will show up—opportunities to choose the path that gets you closer to the next level.
“I can decide between making this bad day mean everything is terrible or using my cheat codes worksheet to create new associations.”
Retrain your brain with checkpoints
Checkpoints are anything that helps regulate your nervous system—which can “save your place” in the level so you always have a place to reset.
“I use vagus nerve stimulation techniques, like gargling, to train my brain to know I am technically safe.”
Helpful Hints
Create new mental associations
The biggest cheat code is undoing unhelpful mental associations, like the one between life and hopelessness, and creating new ones.
Practice believing your new interpretation through repetition.
Consciously and subconsciously reinforce your new associations with baby steps (e.g., “I’m open to believing it’s possible that there is hope on the other side of this difficult time.”).
Find inspiration
Look for stories—either online, in real life, or from friends of friends—of people similar to you who have been suicidal and now have a new outlook.
