Is it normal to have suicidal thoughts but you are not actually suicidal?

I have not found it so. The converse I suspect is that it is normal to have thoughts of suicice when depressed but not necessarily feel suicidal. It seems there is another stage of misery deeper than a miserable depression.

A completely different syndrom is possesion be evil spirit(s), There may be constant presure to suicide or worse general murderous mayhem with suicide as the bizar excape from retibution. I do not think you are alluding to that.

I think it's possible and even perhaps 'normal' if you're suffering from a terrible illness and sometimes lose hope of ever getting better. I get like it sometimes. I don't really want to die; I just want escape from this horrendous illness. Obviously I'd rather get better!

I include illnesses like depression in sometimes feeling suicidal but not really wanting to die. It's just wishing to not be suffering.

I have had fleeting thoughts of it in my youth, but unless I knew I had something wrong with me that would slowly and painfully kill me, I wouldn't take my own life.

Don't think about it.

I hardly dare share my more recent history. I have had over 74 years without any thought of suicide. Then I had a change in the manufacturer of a generic antidepressant at a very low dose and in a week I was in my first ever deep depression. I found my logic was turned on its head. Dark and death were good and desirable and worse death was logical. It took 4 to 5 weeks on the original manufacturer's generic to get me back to life and light is good.

A few months later I suffered a very isolating experience which made me excessively miserable. i wished I had died before my troubles had started but I had no thoughts of suicide.

A couple of months later I had ten days of extreme stress and misery where thoughts of suicide were there whenever I was not distracted. On day ten I had my first thought of how would do it and looked speculatively at the stair railings and landing. I spent the next half hour trying to decide to phone Samaritans. I did that and while I was talking my wife interupted. I had an emotional storm and things were quite a bit better after that. 

I do not, definitely do not wish to end my own life. I am alarmed that I could get into a state that I would do so. I have prepared a note for my GP whom I am to see on Thursday. I have been in the queue for stress councelling for over two months with at least a month to go. Yes I am alarmed.  

Suicide is so hard on family. Death through disease and accident is bad enough. It is strange to feel frightened on oneself.