Like many of you, I am once again heartbroken over the death of a well known individual. With two such deaths so close together, there is a sudden cultural awakening that will last a few weeks. People will write things on Facebook or blogs (exactly what I’m doing), and we should. There is no simple answer as we see an increase in deaths by suicide…an increase in the last two decades by more than 25%. I took the time this morning to talk with my kid about awareness – awareness of self and awareness of others. In a world where we are so very connected, we have limited our capacity to know each other. With increased fear and anxiety, so much of this heightened angst used by politicians and corporations to get what they want, we limit vulnerability. Our guard rarely comes down, and so we become, like the old adage, two ships passing in the night. We must become more aware of what people are saying or not saying. We cannot be afraid to take risks, and ask with genuineness, “No really, how are you doing?”
The catalyst for writing this comes from the news headlines, but every single hour of every single day, there are deaths by suicide that do not make the papers. Our culture struggles to understand and speak honestly about mental health. The word suicide is often spoken only in a whisper, and we have wrongly attached a stigma to it. The church was part of the problem, but as we climb out of the Dark Ages, into a more modern perspective informed by both science and compassion, we can be a leader on creating a culture where mental health is understood in the same way as physical health.
Sorry for my long-winded post – but let me conclude by saying that no one needs to travel this road alone. Call someone, and even if you don’t know who to call, there is always the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255). Get the number out, sit with someone as s/he makes the call, be aware of yourself and others, ask good questions, listen, and always remember that your kind word or smile might just be that little extra gift someone is needing.
