Be a Part of the Solution

Today is the first day of suicide prevention awareness week. The reason this cause is so important to me is because I am a two time attempted suicide survivor. It only takes a single moment of despair to end it all. It’s so tempting to some people because that’s how painful depression and living with mental illness can be. Imagine preferring death over symptoms of an illness that is so taboo, you are scared to talk about it. Unimaginable for some people, I know. However, it doesn’t change the fact that people are dying of suicide at an alarming rate. Especially our youth. Is learning or talking about this subject so uncomfortable that it’s worth risking more lives? The longer we go keeping mental illness a dirty little secret, the more friends, children, parents, brothers and sisters we’ll lose to this illness.

We just want people to acknowledge our differences and recognize our struggles. Life would be so much easier if we could communicate our symptoms as symptoms and not have to lie and isolate to cover them up. It’s so scary to come out with mental illness for people that many would rather end their lives than have people know that they suffer from mental illness.

Mental illness is a life sentence, but it doesn’t have to be all pain if people could seek help without judgement. I had someone reach out to me recently to tell me I had given them the courage to finally admit to their own mental illness and seek help. That means the world to me, and encourages me to keep fighting for this cause.

​If you struggle or know someone who struggles from mental illness, share this to start the conversation. Share this to show you support your loved ones who are struggling. Share this to prove that you are NOT part of the problem. Help me be part of the solution. Help me normalize mental illness and end the stigma.