World Suicide Prevention Day

Working Together To Prevent Suicide

One person dies every 40 seconds from suicide. That means that every 40 seconds, one person out there is ready to depart life in search of freedom; freedom from pain, misery, emptiness and the black hole which they have been living in. But little do they know that ending their life is not the solution and will not bring them freedom.

Not everyone commits suicide from depression, but untreated mental illness is definitely the top contributor. Some people suffer from chronic pain or very debilitating physical disorders which they no longer can withstand; they find an escape by ceasing to experience life further on.

For others, intolerable PTSD, OCD, depression, substance abuse or anorexia nervosa causes them to pull the trigger. Mental illness is just as common as physical disorders but society has yet to accept this. Many people all over the world still maintain an outdated mentality that mental illness is not something serious; a weakness of some sort.

With such a prevalent and outdated view on mental health, the victims remain in hiding, out of fear of ridicule, embarrassment or abandonment. Their existence in hiding slowly repels more light from their life, turning their surroundings in a living black hole. Once in the black hole, the little strength they still have is slowly sucked out of them.

Once a person with mental illness becomes closer to drowning in the black hole, they start to feel that they have no options left besides pulling the plug. They begin to contemplate suicide and plan their methods and timing. They may attempt a few times and fail; this fuels them even more. They continue to attempt suicide, resulting in one of two outcomes: they are saved by those around them or they succeed in ending their life.

We need to do better. We can do better. Suicide and mental illness can no longer be treated as back-burner health issues. More people are committing suicide than ever before; you know it’s serious when the recent spike has mostly been in adolescents. Allowing this to go on is unacceptable.

We need to work together to prevent suicide. We are souls that need to come together to save other souls. And some souls become lost in the process. It is our duty as loving human beings to prevent their early demise. Imagine the bright future that people who commit suicide could have had if they only would have received help in time!

Today, you can be that person who provides help; that shoulder to cry on!

Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)