SUICIDE

SUICIDE. That word conjures up images of darkness. Isolation. Unknown. The stigma is like a cloud, keeping the truth from coming to light. Truth is that we don't know about suicide because no one is willing to talk about it. The word suicide is taboo. But it shouldn't be. Suicide should be talked about as much as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Suicide is among the three leading causes of death in people 15-44 years old, WORLD WIDE. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States.

A number of high schools talk about "every fifteen minutes" as it relates to alcohol/vehicle related fatalities. More people die by suicide each year than are killed by drunk drivers. More people die by suicide each year than AIDS.  In 2011, 39,518 people died by Suicide. That is one person every  13.3 minutes. That's 108 people every day. Here's another startling fact: 90% of those people, who die by suicide, have a diagnosable and treatable mental illness! That means there is HELP. There can be  HOPE.

Not everyone who has a suicidal thought is "crazy" or "5150" or "mental". Everyone at one point or another has the fleeting thought of what the world would be like without them. I'm not talking about the momentary wandering mind. I'm talking about the people who are mentally unable to rationalize their thoughts because they have an illness.  Suicide is often NOT an impulsive decision. Suicide is the result of numerous factors, causing a sort-of perfect storm, in which an individual perceives the only way to end the pain is to die. The people who have survived their attempt at suicide often express the desire for hope, not the desire for death itself.

What can we do? As a collective global community, we can talk about it. We can be educated on the warning signs, the options, and the language we use. We can get real. Each and every one of us can refuse to keep suicide wrapped in stigma, by talking about it. By turning a blind eye, and using negative language, we are saying to thousands of people  - THOUSANDS of suicide attempt survivors and the loved ones left behind in the wake of a suicide - that we don't care. Would you say that to someone suffering from cancer?

I issue this challenge: take charge over the stigma surrounding mental illnesses and suicide. Refuse to be intolerant and indifferent. Listen when people speak. Be courageous. Understand that there is help and there is hope. There is NO SHAME in suicide. The only shame is ignorance.

--Julie--

For more info visit www.TheRyanFund.com or www.AFSP.org or www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

If you are in crisis please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)