My dad had a suicide note in his desk for 10+ years

It was folded up in his desk drawer. It was a general suicide note. He wrote it before I was born. After a few unsuccessful attempts he first wrote it. He folded it up, put it in his desk drawer, and moved on with his life. He would sometimes pull it out and read it and had a sense of comfort knowing it was there. But he never used it, and it took about 10 years to throw it out. I was pretty young when I found it (6-8) so it took years for me to understand the severity. He talks openly about it now, and is a professional, functioning member of society.