As you might know, September is suicide prevention awarness month.
What is suicide prevention?
First of all, we must understand that mental health education is ultimately suicide prevention. Acknowledging that you might suffer from a mental illness and reaching out for help at the right time, when you most need it, can help in coping with all these thoughts. Therefore, the state must provide the necessary infrastructure, which will allow people to educate themselves on mental health issues as well as to actually get some real help.
What are some thoughts/ behaviors that a suicidal person might be having?
They could feel a constant pain (physical or emotional) or that nobody understands them or that their life is purposeless. They usually feel like a burden and that the world will be better off without them. If they are traumatized they might be reliving their traumatic experience and the pain that this caused. It is also common for suicidal people to have depressive episodes, isolating himself/herself, sleeping irregularly (too much or too little) or even abusively using drugs or alcohol.
How can somebody cope with suicidal thoughts?
- GET PROFESSIONAL HELP! This is the most important step. We must normalize asking for help from experts, as they can truly help us with our issue. There is nothing too be ashamed of, everybody needs help sometimes.
- Mind yourself: do the things you love the most, dress however you want, listen to music that makes you feel relaxed, get lost in a book or a movie.
- It’s okay to scream or cry if that’s what you feel like. Get it out of your system.
- Surround yourself with people you love and make you feel comfortable. You don’t have to talk to them about your thoughts unless you want to.
How can someone deal with the fact that a suicidal friend is no longer here?
“How can things get better after this? How will I ever be able to laugh again? How can I move on?”. These are all very normal thoughts you might be having if you have lost a friend. Know that you are not alone. There will always be somebody to listen to you as long as you let them know how you feel. There’s no set time when the grieving stops. It’s really important to not hide how you feel, so that you are not grieving alone. Another idea is to write a letter to the person you have lost, including your best memories with them and your feelings now. You can either keep it to yourself or tie it to a balloon and let it find its way. Just give yourself time. If you feel like you can’t handle the pain seek immediately help from an expert.
If you are fighting suicidal thoughts, have lost someone to suicide, have attempted, love someone who is suicidal you can always get help! Contact us via email and we will suggest you an organization to get help. (you don’t need money or your parents to get help).
cover’s artwork: J, 16 years old