SUICIDE SUCKS!!! (For the Living and the Dead)


Suicide Sucks!!!

This day saw another friend end their life by way of suicide. It sucks!

In his mind, his pain was too great to bear. That sucks! In our lives we all have decisions where things get so bad or so uncomfortable that we feel the need to make a move, right? Well, that’s exactly what he did. The only difference is that his move, was his last.

This single act is affecting his family, who are devastated by his death, the manner of his death, the aura surrounding suicide, the impossible task of understanding why, trying to look back and beat themselves up for not seeing more signs and doing more and about a million other things. Then there are his friends and workmates, there are his acquaintances, the professionals he dealt with like doctors, nurses, pharmacists, teachers, etc… all left not just mourning his loss, but beating themselves up for not being able to change what happened and wondering if they could have done something.

Is it fair for all of these survivors to be thrust into these positions, to feel the feelings, doubt and guilt their feeling? No! The sad part is we can’t have that conversation anymore, can we? Suicide is a fact! It’s time people from the family to their friends and even the media quit tip-toeing around it! Suicide is a fact!

If you’re considering suicide, reach out to a professional right now! Reach out and get help, if not for you, then for all of us! [ National Suicide Prevention Lifeline # 1-800-273-8255 or if your a Veteran try IAVA.org ]

If suicide happens in your family, reach out to others, tell them the truth, let them help.

IN EITHER CASE, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF!

If you’re on the outside looking in, stop “not” talking about it! Reach out to the family and friends, let them know you care, share your great memories of the person, FIND A WAY TO HELP!

Yep, Suicide Sucks!!! But it will continue to suck and get even worse if…

•We don’t stop ignoring that it happened!

•We don’t start talking about it!

•We hide behind “The Elephant in the room”

•We don’t understand that we can’t understand their pain at the time!

•We don’t attack this epidemic on the Medical, Spiritual, Psychiatric, Mental Health and Interpersonal  fronts that every National Emergency deserves!

Finally, just a personal aside…

I’ve spent today and I will spend the next several days remembering my friend with a smile. He truly is in a better place now if his last moments here were that tortured. I will think of his smile and laugh and our missions through life together. He no longer limps and winces and has to pop pills because of his pain. He no longer sees only darkness closing in.  I truly wish, with all my heart that he chose a different path. I wish he would have “given it another shot.” I wish he would have called me or a hundred others who are thinking the same thing I am today. I wish he was still here. Lucky for me, I am still here! Lucky for me I have some great memories to keep me here and great people who love me. THEY TELL ME THEY LOVE ME OFTEN, AND IT MATTERS!

Tell someone that matters in your life, that they matter! Tell someone you love, that you love them! Then, tell yourself those things too! Tell yourself that You Matter, that You, Love You!

Peace

     …..Gregg