As a founder who struggles with severe depression, one of the few bits of advice that I remember when personally in a dark place is from a physician that had met with thousands of suicidal patients. He said:
"I've never had a patient who survived (suicidal thinking) and later wished that they had killed themselves."
Sorry I couldn't find the quote and may be paraphrasing a bit, I share this because this personal mantra has kept me from the ledge when my thoughts were otherwise debilitating.
Likewise, I read a news story (long time ago, source forgotten) that interviewed several people who had survived jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge. The reporter asked each one what thoughts went through their head after jumping before hitting the water. It wasn't relief or clarity - almost unanimously, it was "What have I done?!?" and immediate regret.
Another powerful quote: "The guy was in his thirties, lived alone, pretty bare apartment. He’d written a note and left it on his bureau. It said, ‘I’m going to walk to the bridge. If one person smiles at me on the way, I will not jump.’"
I went through a period of depression as well and had such thoughts. If you don't talk with someone you wind up solving a temporary problem with a permanent "solution". Thankfully someone lit into me with both barrels to seek help and I haven't had any recurrence in the past decade.
"I've never had a patient who survived (suicidal thinking) and later wished that they had killed themselves."
Sorry I couldn't find the quote and may be paraphrasing a bit, I share this because this personal mantra has kept me from the ledge when my thoughts were otherwise debilitating.