Reddit’s Minecraft community helped to convince a fellow member to not take his own life, after the young man posted on the site that after battling with depression and social anxiety, he was preparing to commit suicide.
User ‘NotaRomanGuy,’ known to those in the Minecraft community as ‘CaesarOctavius,’ posted the following on the subreddit r/UltraHardcore:
Upon posting this message, he was bombarded with outpourings of support from the Reddit community.
User Smeargle123 wrote in respose: “Of all of the times I have teamed with you, all of the times I’ve talked to you, you have made me laugh so much, I have had great times talking with you and teaming with you. So many people enjoy your company; I have barely met a person you haven’t made laugh. And as many people say, it gets better. You may feel out of place, and inadequate, but really, it gets better.”
BlindedGamer then posted a link to an image captioned “I <3 CaeserOctavius,” which featured a large building created in Minecraft that resembled CaeserOctavius’ player-character.
The following day, NotaRomanGuy/CaesarOctavius took to another post to discuss his thoughts on the incredible show of support.
Related: Let’s Talk About Depression and How You Can Get Through It
He wrote: “Last night was extremely tough for me, I came close to ending it all, and I probably would have if not for the people in this community.
“I obviously wasn’t cured or freed from all the thoughts I have in one night, but the people, their overwhelming support, they opened my eyes; showed me that some people really do care, no matter how it may seem. I’ve been plagued with depression and social anxiety for several years, and tomorrow I’m going to see the school counsellour about seeing a psychiatrist. If I hadn’t said what I had, if I hadn’t been able to see the reaction to what I was going to do, I wouldn’t have had the chance to take the first steps to get myself out of depression.
“The past several years have seemed hollow to me, as that’s how I felt: hollow, inadequate, worthless, but last night I felt, for the first time in a long time, that people genuinely cared. I have so much gratitude for all the kind things that people from the community said last night that made me put down the knife.
“I just want to say that you should ask people how they’re doing before it’s too late, because it was almost too late for me. Everyone fights their own battles, but every individual deserves the chance to be helped when fighting them. I just want to say thanks to everyone from the community. Last night was what I hope was the first step to recovery.
“Sorry for the wall of text, I just thought people should know that I am doing better, that I will be doing better, and that even a community based on minecraft can be compassionate.
“Thank you all.”
Well done, Reddit, and well done CaesarOctavius for making that brave leap.
