World Suicide Prevention Day
Don’t just tweet a suicide helpline or post one on social media. Real conversations with real people are needed.
Content warning: suicide
The topic of mental health is slowly increasing in frequency in the media. However, until real help is easily accessible and affordable for everyone, very little will change.
From a perspective of a person who lives with depression and anxiety, even if a person knows that their friends and/or family care, depression cannot just be dismissed or convinced to go away. Depression is not just about being emotional or sad. Logic may remain but is not in control when a person is depressed. Help needs to be de-stigmatized and readily available to everyone.
In the meantime, what can you do? What a depressed person needs the most is support. Be there for that person. You don’t necessarily need to say anything, just be present and available. Hold back any judgment and just listen. Provide resources if you can, whether it be to help with daily tasks like helping with home chores, picking up meals, helping with kids, whatever they may need to keep going. Offer to help them find the help they need. For many, depression is cyclical. Sometimes even one small thing you do for them can make all the difference.
Each person’s needs are different. Therefore, experiences with depression can be quite different. A few common signs of depression are lack of interest in things they would normally enjoy, and changes in eating habits, activity or communication. Sometimes they can find no escape from the emotional and even physical pain. Headaches, shortness of breath, pain, exhaustion, and even gastrointestinal trouble are frequently experienced.
Don’t just tweet a suicide helpline or post one on social media. Real conversations with real people are needed. We cannot wish it away. We cannot be fixed with a pep talk. Let go of your assumptions and learn to really listen. You may never truly understand, but you can still be supportive and maybe save a life.
