World Suicide Prevention Day – September 10, 2019

Mental illness is something we are talking more and more about but it’s still not enough! People of all ages especially the most vulnerable…youths and young adults need to hear the message loud and clear that mental health is as important as physical health. One does not go without the other. If you are stressed about something for long periods of time, we know how that impacts on your physical health, right? And yet, how many people delay or never go to see a professional about this? Too many and that is mostly due to the stigma.

I think the media is helping even though their main goal may be to get more readers, increase viewers or listeners but still, admittedly, it helps A LOT! And if it can save one life…it is worth it!

When I hear of a suicide, it makes me feel we have failed as a society and yes, often as professionals …but that is an emotional reaction and not a rational one.

Light a Candle

Light a Candle near a Window at 8:00 P.M. September 10th to show your support for suicide prevention, to remember a lost loved one, and for the survivors of suicide.

On Tuesday, September 10^th it is World Suicide Prevention Day. It is an international candle ceremony that will be taking place all over the world, in homes, at work, on line. For some it will be your way of remembering a loved one and friends who are survivors of suicide. My heart goes out to you. I know you carry your love and your loss of someone “who matters” forever!

I have shared this story before but it is still one that struck me on how one person can make a difference in the life another…saving a life:

A young boy, teen, called thinking seriously of suicide. He had been depressed for quite some time and he had a plan. After talking for quite some time, he began feeling there just “may” be hope. At the end of the call, I asked him how he heard about the phone service. “Oh, a buddy of mine slipped a tab from a Smarties box in my pocket without my knowing. I just happened to find it tonight.” (Youth line is printed on most Nestlé products). So if you have a helpful link or resource to share with a friend, DO IT, you just never know how important that action could be…may even save a life and in the very least, offer hope.

Sometimes just smiling at a person waiting in line at the subway, grocery store or bank can make a difference not only in that person’s day but their life too!