Religion can be a very strong protective factor IME - because it is seen as a sin or the person fears going to hell
OP, I believed in God before I fell on hard times in life. I had understand that really well known bible verse; John 3:16 which says: "for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
What it didn't say was "whoever gives to charity", or "whoever goes to church on Sunday" or "whoever leads a good life", I realised that nice though those things might be, they are 'works' that can't save us. So I was trusting in God for my eternal life with him, but I wasn't trusting him for my every day problems.
Over the years I found myself divorced, and then diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, you know, that awful disease that makes people campaign to legalise euthanasia, and it robbed me of everything: my freedom and independence, my memory and concentration, my mobility, the career I loved (because I was too ill to work in any adapted capacity), and even my ability to pursue any hobbies because the neuro-fatigue was just too much. I could have been forgiven for thinking that, because MS is a degenerative neurological disease, I can't expect anything but further deterioration, and with that, further misery. I felt trapped in a body that had become the enemy, which is a really odd feeling!
I was so angry at God for letting that one happen to me! But one day I went back to a local church and the speaker was saying how that if you don't trust Gods love, then you won't trust his rule (in other words his will in your life; what he allows to happen). And I realise that sums up my entire life story! I was trusting God in terms of believing in him, but I wasn't trusting in God in terms of believing his promises for us on this before we die. God promises to bring comfort and peace, you where you would expect it to be impossible, he promises that he has a plan, and he promises that he can work everything out together for good to those that love him. We just can't always see the full picture and that's where faith comes in.
So even though my circumstances are screaming at me that my future is full of misery, pain and torment, I am trusting in God to have a plan and I'm looking to him for my value, not to myself or my fantastic career I once enjoyed.
I suppose I am telling you all of this because I had times when I felt things hopeless, and the last thing I ever wanted to be was a burden to my family or my dear children. It is easy to trick yourself into thinking about they'd be better off without you so they don't have to watch you deteriorate, change beyond recognition, or be cared for physically. But my thinking has changed and I honestly, quietly, put my faith in God for all of it.
To my surprise I've had some really good, unexpected change in my condition. After 7 years of deterioration, I am having small improvements. That's supposed to be pretty impossible if it's not the usual relapse-remitting cycle. What I'm saying is, you never know what's around the next corner. I found when I was bed-bound I could get online for very short bursts and encourage someone through their hard times, which I believe would have made a difference to them. Even though I have missed on my children's upbringing so much over the past 7 years, the could always crawl into my sick-bed for a weak smile and a cuddle from their Mum's arms. There is always some purpose. I hope you can find a new perspective on an old problem 