Suicide Awareness Throwout
Hello All,
I know I promised to get back to posting excerpts from my
books, but I feel that I could not end this month without addressing something
personal.
*Pulls out soapbox, takes a step up*
September is suicide prevention month.
I know, I know, you have had this topic shoved down your
throat recently. Why would you bother reading another article about suicide, It
is just depressing.
Well, as you have all seen from my past posts, I myself
struggle with depression. Along with 350 million others on this rock we call
home. If you stop to think about the sheer magnitude of that number, how small
one person is in comparison, you may understand why I find this so important.
- Let’s review the facts, shall we?
- On average one person commits suicide every 16.2 minutes
- 22 veterans commit suicide daily
- There is 1 suicide for every 25 attempts
- 2/3 of people who commit suicide are suffering from undiagnosed, untreated, or ineffectively treated depression.
- 1 in 65,000 children ages 10-14 commit suicide annually
- Two times as many deaths are attributed to suicide than HIV/AIDS
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST
- EACH SUICIDE INTIMATELY AFFECTS AT LEAST 6 OTHER PEOPLE
There it is, that last one, which is where I am going with
this.
In the past two weeks, this fact has been more prevalent
than any other to me has. A friend lost a friend to the hopelessness, brought
on by senseless bullying. An acquaintance asked if suicide is ever a good
thing, then disappeared for two days and had several people worried.
The lost souls who choose this path, never consider what effect
it has on others. Their reasons are endless, but it boils down to one thing.
THEY ARE NOT THINKING ABOUT ANYTHING BESIDES THEIR OWN PAIN. The fact that
others will be affected doesn’t even occur to them, because their pain is so
exponential, nothing else matters. At that moment, they see nothing besides the
pit of despair, which they see no escape.
My point in all of this is, you never know if someone is
suffering internally. People don’t wear their depression on their sleeve for
all to see. All we can do is make sure our friends and loved ones know we are
there for them. If something seems off, make sure they know they can come to
you if they need you. If someone seems lonely, go out of your way to make them
your friend.
Dealing with the ups and downs of depression is never easy,
but we all need to understand, we are not alone.
Six other people, Six.
No matter how hard things are, your leaving this earth will
affect no less than six others. Could you live with yourself if one of them
took their lives out of guilt or sadness because of what you did? I bet you
never thought of it that way.
I hear it a lot, though. Suicide is the most selfish act a
person could commit. They are going to hell because of their choice.
What, you don’t think they weren’t already in hell before
they decided to take their own existence?
Please, I beg of you. Be considerate of those who are morning
and be respectful of the dead.
On the other hand, I implore you. If you are considering suicide,
please think about those that love you. Please ask for help. No matter how bad
it is, you are someone’s reason to smile. You are the first thing on someone’s
mind in the morning and the last thing at night.
Don’t think it will effect anyone else?? Maybe your smile is
the only thing that saved another life, they day they thought about ending it
all. Maybe your hugs were the one thing that made them feel better. Maybe,
holding your hand, made them feel safe. You just never know.
If you are gone, you will never find out.
Life is like a picnic friends. You could have beautiful
weather and wonderful food, or rotten mayonnaise and a swarm of bees. However,
each day is a different experience, and we were all put here for a reason.
Why leave before you find out what your reason is?
*Jumps down from soapbox*
That is my rant for this week. I am going to try to post
again Thursday with some more of those girls for you all to enjoy. Thanks for
reading.
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