These are tough times we are living in. Not to say previous generations haven’t had tough times-they certainly have! But our culture and
society today present some unique mental health challenges-that affect each and every one of us! In light of the increasing suicides, I invite you to read the following letter…
Dear Person with Suicidal Thoughts,
I want to acknowledge that for you to be having such thoughts, you
must be in serious deep pain. You don’t deserve to be in that kind of
pain and this is not your fault. No one would consciously choose to feel
this way! While I know you most likely feel helpless and hopeless, there
is always help and hope; so long as you are willing to ask and seek it
out. It may not seem easy to find help or maybe you feel as though you
have tried ‘everything’ you can to get help and ‘it didn’t work’. There is
always another type of therapy/therapist/medication/alternative
approach to help you get relief.
Also too, I strongly urge you to consider that if you do attempt suicide
and you are ‘successful’ (an interesting word given the topic), you will
be leaving more damage behind than you may realize. Many of my
clients over the years who have lost a loved one to suicide struggle with
trying to not take the suicide personally. For instance, a son whose
mother commit suicide when he was ten years old, still today at 54
years old thinks it was because he wasn’t ‘enough’ (good enough/smart
enough/lovable enough). The psychological damage can be long lasting
for those who lost a family member to suicide.
So, please reconsider. If not for you, for those who love you-even if you
don’t feel anyone does love you. If you or anyone you know is considering suicide, please call 1-800-273-8255 immediately. (National
Suicide Prevention Hotline).
Very sincerely,
A therapist who has seen the pain of those left behind
And to those who have lost someone to suicide, please know this was
not your fault and there is help for you too. Feel free to reach out to me
and I will help point you in the right direction.
Again, these are challenging times so we need to work together as a community. Life can be beautiful, joyful and rewarding once we get the help we need. Tough times often call for tough measures. And we are both tough and resilient as human beings.