I wasn’t planning on writing anything today but today is World Suicide Prevention Day, making it the most perfect time for me to talk about suicide. When talking about mental illness I would say that suicide is talked about least because of the stigma and heaviness that surrounds it. Although I understand the social norm of dedicating specific days and months to causes, realistically every single day should be dedicated to suicide prevention. In order to truly raise awareness we have to engage in conversation and do more than look the other way when we see someone struggling. Most of the time people don’t directly say, “I am contemplating suicide please help me”, which can make it difficult to help sufferers but there are key signs that may help you identify if someone needs help. Social media can be a huge tell tale sign as to if a person is struggling, they may post things that suggest they want to end their life, talking about the end and wanting everything/everyone to disappear. I know many times I would post pictures and tweets with captions that were extremely suggestive and much of the time no one said anything about them. The biggest and most infuriating problem in todays society is the normalization of phrases like “I’m going to kill myself”, amongst other wrongfully coined sayings. This causes confusion amongst the general population and makes it extremely hard for people to differentiate between someone who is truly struggling and someone who simply got a bad grade on a quiz. Not only that but lately the news has been plagued with stories of stars taking their lives, but rarely do they talk about the residual damage. Other things that should set off red flags are an individual talking about feeling hopeless, trapped, and burdensome to others – when you see something, say something. If you are someone who is struggling with suicidal thoughts please tell someone that has the power and ability to help you. You telling your friend and making them promise they won’t tell anyone is not the same thing as telling an adult, parent, or counselor. Your friends cannot help you out of this hole and I am telling you this out of experience, suicidal thoughts are bigger and stronger than you or your friend and WILL NOT go away with time. You cannot expect for people to check on you, ask you how you are, and take care of you because the harsh truth is that other people have things going on too. Another option is calling helplines on extremely hard nights, they truly do their job and will at least help you get to the next morning. As for the people who are directly dealing with a suicidal friends, tell an adult. You cannot singlehandedly fix your friend, as much as you may want to or feel obligated to. I used to believe that no one cared whether I lived or not, that no one got what I was going through, and that it would never get better. But after living through it I can tell you that if you choose to get help and live, you will get better. Right now it seems like there is nothing to live for but I promise life is so much more than the tunnel you are trapped in. Recovery will give you the ability to meet beautiful people, see beautiful places, and experience beautiful things. So this week and every week take the time to check up on someone, invest in conversations with people, and make at least one person feel good about themself. If you are dealing with suicidal thoughts begin to seek out help and everything will begin to fall into place after that. I am not saying that it will be easy, but it is so worth it when you wake up every morning knowing that you beat the hell out of your demons. Please feel free to contact me if you need assistance in taking the first steps to get help and I will do my best to connect you to the right people!
You are LOVED. You are NEEDED. You are ENOUGH.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
1-800-273-8255
Self Care with Claire 