Today is the world suicide prevention day and I hoped we could take the time to remember the people that didn't make it. As well as raise awareness on suicide and how to help someone dealing with it. If you are currently suicidal or depressed please seek help, reach out to a school counselor or a teacher. There are many people here on EC that can help you. If you are in danger of harming yourself the United States suicide life line is at the bottom of the thread. If a mod wants to add any numbers I forgot please feel free to do so ^,^ I wrote "love" on my wrist and made it my profile pic for the day, please show your support and love for the people that didn't make it, and the ones that are going through it. (More information on the day) World Suicide Prevention Day (How to handle a call from a suicidal person) Handling a call from a suicidal person (Warning signs of a suicidal person) SAVE | Warning Signs of Suicide (United States suicide statistics) AFSP: Facts and Figures (LGBT suicide statistics) Statistics (Trevor Project) Preventing Suicide Among LGBTQ Youth | The Trevor Project US national suicide help line 1-800-273-8255 Trevor Project Life Line 1-866-488-7386
I'm glad you posted this. I made a serious attempt in 2010, and almost died - but I'm proof that it Does Get Better! Reach out, talk to somebody, call the hotlines, don't make a permanent choice to end what I can assure you is a *temporary* problem.
I can't say I know anyone personally who I've lost to suicide, though I've learned a couple of friends of mine actually attempted before, and of course I'm learning a lot about the topic through EC. This is a great thread, and I have a great respect for both the people who are strong enough to deal with these emotions and the people loving enough to come to the aid of those who need it. I also don't know any other resources to add, but everyone is welcome to PM anyone on staff if they want help, or even just to vent - I guarantee we've got an ear to listen with.
I think that this is going to be an unpopular view, but I actually don't like a lot of Suicide Awareness stuff. Here is why: I attempted suicide over a year ago, although it was half-hearted. It might never have happened if I had been able to talk to people about it. I didn't because the way everyone talked about suicide made it seems like a distant problem that nobody in my world experienced. It was like, "oh those poor people out there". I'm not saying we shouldn't have suicide awareness day. I think it's nice to have a day to remember people and aknowlege an issue. I'm just sharing a thought.
I actually agree. I think it's wonderful that today exists, but it's a year round problem and I don't feel like people really care for the other 364 days. It's really sad and disheartening. Today is great... but what about the rest??
Isn't the point of an awareness day to bring light to the often unspoken issue that is suicide? I mean, I'm sure a lot of the reason (conscious or not) people don't talk about suicide is because of the stigma surrounding it... and I think the aim of this day is to help break that down and make it a more accessible topic, both for those who are/have been suicidal and those that want to help. Like you, those are just my two cents, maybe I'm missing something since I'm sitting on the inexperienced side of the fence. Well, you've gotta start somewhere, right? I'd be very very surprised to see awareness grow to such a level that it becomes commonplace every day of the year within the span of a week or two. Like I said above, awareness makes it more of an accessible topic, which means more people will talk about it, which means more people will learn about it, which just snowballs... you get the idea.
This is a great thread, because it highlights the importance of suicide awareness. Seeing as LGBTQ are way more like to commit suicide, I'm glad this thread was posted. I'm really gonna use that LGBTQ suicide statistics as a source from now on. This thread also inspired me to write a letter to my university's newspaper, so thanks for inspiring me. I've never known anyone who killed themselves, but I attempted suicide in 2006 and thankfully it didn't work. My depression stemmed primarily from being unable to cope with my gender identity issues and being lonely as a result of that. I'm better off now, but having that support may have prevented me from ever attempting anything. If this thread helps even one person, then it's value is unparalleled. So it's great to see that you're trying to help others, and just know that we don't take this lightly.
I'm only seeing this after spending all day getting my pupils dilated, chugging cold medicine, and doing classwork. I lost one of my close friends back in high school. I feel about as powerless when it comes to helping as I did back then.
