Suicide Prevention

We have unfortunately & unnecessarily lost many great people due to suicide - and it is important to know & learn how we can help stop the bleeding. 

Let's start with why a person gets to a point where they consider suicide as a solution to their problems:

There are some very good reasons as to why a person comes to a point where they don't want to live anymore, for example:

• The person might be sick & suffering from an overwhelming amount of pain & discomfort - some have even received the news that they will most likely die from the illness after a long time of suffering/discomfort.

• Might have lost the one & only person in their life that was very close, important & dear to them and they now feel an overwhelmed sense of abandonment, loneliness & feeling lost.

• Person could be suffering from some form of Depression: overwhelmed and flooded with intense negative thoughts & emotions and they can only see and focus on the negative & bad things they perceive in life and get stuck in cycle of being too focused on death, suffering, pain, loss of hope & a bright future, lack of energy & motivation, brain fog, lack of understanding & support from others, loneliness, 'unfairness' of their situation, etc.

• There seems to be no purpose to life and nobody seems to have a good answer for it. All they can see is the pain & suffering that seems to have no reason other than perhaps torture.

• They might have done something wrong and don't see a way to rectify the situation or get out of it and now they will have to face consequences - which they are afraid to do - since it might seem too overwhelming & intense to them.

How can you help them or yourself (if you are the one considering suicide):

1. Be aware, sensitive and on the lookout for the following warning signs (red flags):

   • The person might come across as constantly angry/upset, overly negative/cynical, withdrawn, unwilling to talk, 'lazy' & just not the happy normal self:

     • This makes it hard for you to reach out to them: it is easier to ignore than to consult. However it is crucial that you don't ignore the warning signs and rather engage them in a friendly & supportive manner - you just might save a life today.

     • On the flip side, a lot of times it is hard for them to reach out to you: they don't want to bother other people with their problems & weigh them down. They might not have the energy to initiate conversation with happy people. In a lot of cases they are awesome actors in disguise and have a smile on their face even though they are dying & disintegrating on the inside.

2. Create/Ensure a safe environment & encourage them to talk about what is going on:

   • Keep/Lock guns, knives and/or any other sharp objects away from the person that potentially wants to hurt themselves.

   • If you feel the situation has escalated to an emergency level: Call 911 (USA) or the applicable emergency number in your country. 

   • If you are the one contemplating suicide, reach out to the most trustworthy & loving person in your life and explain how you feel. If you don't have someone close by, you can always call/text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline @ 988 or alternatively chat @ 988lifeline.org. This is too important & serious to try and ignore and there is no shame in reaching out to your fellow brother/sister in times of trouble - that's what they are there for.

3. Explain why suicide is NOT the solution

   • It is not Creater God's will (He does not wish/want you to go down that painful & horrible path)

     • If you doubt this, just try to hold your breath for 2 minutes - you'll find that your body gasps for air sooner than you expected - since it is expected & responsible for hosting your soul until your journey is complete here on Earth, according to the Creator God - and it is assigned the task to do all that it can, in its power, to ensure that you survive & ideally thrive until you reach your finish line here on Earth. Nobody said the journey was going to be easy - in fact God's own Son (Jesus) said: "...take up their [your] cross daily [daily struggles & challenges] and follow me [follow Jesus's example & the path he leads you on]" (Source: The Bible, Luke 9:23)

     • Creator God understands that you did not plan or sign up for this thing called Life out of your own - but He wants to reveal and make you realize that there is a divine Purpose of [your] life and that once you see it - you will want to live.

   • It leaves family, friends & colleagues with a lot of unanswered questions - wondering how they could have prevented it and if something they said or did may have even contributed/triggered it.

   • Your family, friends and/or colleagues (and even strangers) want to help & see you succeed in Life - they understand that Life can be hard & difficult at times - but they are more than willing to come alongside you and support & lift you up. But if you decide to leave us (your family, friends and/or colleagues and even strangers) behind to carry your load, on top of everything else, it leaves them in a very shocked & sad state - not to mention feeling that it is not fair to put us (your family, friends and/or colleagues) in that horrible unwanted position.

   • It might feel intensely overwhelming and that you are drowning - rest assured that genuine love, help, care and support is all around you - just reach out and hold onto someone you trust - they have enough energy to help guide you on how to get back to higher ground again - you've got this & they've got your back :)

4. Encourage them to go see a doctor & go with them if you can:

   • The doctor will help rule out any serious health conditions that might be at play and provide appropriate medication/treatment to help alleviate the situation.

     • If there is a concern/hesitancy in taking medication: just remind them that the body is in essence made up of an extremely complicated set of physical, biological, chemical & electrical components that can fail/malfunction at any time and that there is no shame in taking medication for it - in fact, it is rather a very admirable & honorable way of showing respect to your body. Some folks have to wear contacts/glasses, use wheelchairs, wear hearing aids, drink meds for diabetes, etc. - taking the medication is just as important, normal & not a big deal - the important thing is to try and get better.

5. Pray for them (and with them, if they don't mind)

   • You can pray for wisdom on how to best handle the situation and for guidance on finding the right doctors, resources etc. that would be the best fit.

6. Check in or follow up with them daily to ensure they remain in a good place and that the situation doesn't deteriorate/escalate.

7. Be patient & persevere:

   • Don't expect an easy/quick solution i.e. have the correct expectations and not diminish the extent of the issue

   • It might be a long uphill climb to reach the top of the world again - but as long as you move a little forward each day, it is progress.

8. Once the root cause of the suicidal thoughts/behavior is better understood - come up with ways to prevent it in the future.

   • It might be helpful to reach out to others for ideas in this regard, including doctor(s).
     
     

Final Thoughts: 

• Suicide prevention is achievable - it just takes a team/group of caring people to make it a success but it is not too hard when you compare the benefits :)

• Your life is precious, has meaning & purpose: Purpose of [your] life 

• The right music can be medicine to the soul and act as an encouragement & relaxing agent during these dark times, for example: