September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Suicide is an invisible illness that affects and takes the lives of many. It is time to end the stigma.
Suicide affects all ages, races, sexualities, ethnicities, and living situations.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is at least one death by suicide every 11 minutes. In 2020, there were 45,979 deaths by suicide.
Everyone must educate themselves about mental health. Mental disorders – for example, depression – do not disappear overnight. To help someone who is struggling, you must empathize with them and listen to their struggles. You can not tell someone that they “need to put their phone down” or to “stop sleeping so much’, especially if you do not fully understand their situation.
Simple things like “I’m always here if you need to vent” or “How can I help?” are helpful. Never invalidate another person’s feelings because you never really know the severity of their struggle unless you have sat down with them and tried to understand.
Check on your family, friends, classmates, co-workers, or neighbors. It could save someone’s life. A smile, a kind greeting/card, or a compliment could uplift someone. During a bad day, someone will remember the one person that was kind to them.
Other ways to spread suicide awareness around your community could be participating in “Out of the Darkness Walks”. These walks were created by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to promote advocacy and fundraising for those with mental disorders.
Mental health isn’t trivial. It is as important as physical health.
Spread awareness about suicide prevention and mental health; save lives.
Sources:
https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics/
https://suicidepreventionnow.org/
https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html
https://www.choosingtherapy.com/what-to-say-to-someone-with-depression/
