HAPPY NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY! And yes, I said happy, because the time is now where conversation is happening surrounding suicide, depression and mental health. The time is now where we equip ourselves and our loved ones with the means to PREVENT something that more than 800,000 people worldwide do. Thats one person every 40 seconds committing suicide. (huffingtonpost/2014/09/04/global-suicide-rate-prevention-who_n_5764878.html) The more we talk about it, the more we become OK letting the words slip off our tongues, the less stigma there will be for people. I will start: I was severely depressed three years ago and was very close to taking my own life. This is NOT shameful. This does not warrant an explanation as to why I got to that point. I am absolutely not ashamed of how lost, hopeless and unbearably sad/indifferent I was. Thankfully, with the strength to ask for help, get help, and allow support from loved ones wash over me, I was able to move past that very dark period of my life (something I carry with me, always). I want to encourage anyone who needs help or knows someone who does to ask for it. There are MANY, MANY resources out there for you, and your loved ones, may you need them. The Suicide Prevention Resource Center and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention are two that I am fond of and the hotline is 1-800-273-8255 if you need to talk to someone immediately. Furthermore, Id like to say YOU are an incredible, strong, beautiful human being. You are HUMAN and with the human existence, there are moments and days and maybe weeks or months of sadness and confusion and complete and utter loss of direction. Might I repeat, YOU ARE HUMAN. I encourage you to find the strength, the strength I know you are equipped with, to ask for help, to talk to someone, to not retreat into the dark, alone. Now: Lets keep in mind that everyone is fighting through their own struggles, lets be kind, lets be considerate, lets be patient and most importantly lets be loving. Spread love. Always. Also, asking for help is NOT a weakness and though social media has contributed to people feeling worse and being more likely to attempt copycat suicides, lets use the platforms to our advantage to spread love, awareness, education and support. Mental health. It affects you. It affects your family. It affects your loved ones. Often enough, the mental impairments, the suffering and the pain are intangible. Whether these are mild, moderate or chronically debilitating, and to what extent it needs addressing is something only the individual can know. And that is why it is incredibly important for everyone to tap into their mental state and assess what’s going on, regularly. Be observant, be loving, be strong. I dont keep in touch with all my Facebook friends, but know that I am always here to listen, to be present, silently if thats what you need, or help you get help. Never hesitate to reach out. I will drop anything to be there. Your feelings are real and not at all shameful. You never have to be alone. There is always, always, always a reason to live this beautiful, yet sometimes terribly hard, life we are given. I love you.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 21:49:59 +0000
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