To cure suicidal ideation, contemplate death, but better?
Before you figure out what you want to do in your career, first figure out what you’re willing to die for. Your purpose as a person isn’t to get a degree. Your degree should serve your purpose.
When problems inevitably occur, you’ll be asked to sacrifice something. Knowing what’s worth sacrificing and toward what ends gives you shock absorbers that prevent you from giving up or becoming suicidal when things take a turn for the worse. If you’re wealthy because you’ve chased money your whole life and you end up poor, you’re more likely to commit suicide than if you chase money as part of some greater purpose other than the money itself.
If you lose your home, friends, family, relatives, etc you still want to wake up in the morning and do whatever it is you do. Knowing what you’re willing to sacrifice for makes you more resilient. It allows you to absorb bigger losses and protects you from the most insidious temptations.
If you’re not willing to die for anything, you might end up paranoid, but if you’re paranoid enough to contemplate potential conditions for your own death, then maybe you can remind yourself why you’re alive.