diff --git a/mdmon.c b/mdmon.c
index d6b99a2..32805a8 100644
--- a/mdmon.c
+++ b/mdmon.c
@@ -139,6 +139,10 @@ static void try_kill_monitor(char *devname)
 	close(fd);
 	pid = strtoul(buf, NULL, 10);
 
+	/* first rule of survival... don't off yourself */
+	if (pid == getpid())
+		return;
+
 	/* kill this process if it is mdmon */
 	sprintf(buf, "/proc/%lu/cmdline", (unsigned long) pid);
 	fd = open(buf, O_RDONLY);