This could be the most important thing you read today...
Because when it comes to mental health and suicide prevention, the risks can’t be understated.
More people than you realise have experienced a mental health battle that you know absolutely nothing about.
September is suicide prevention month, and I wanted to write a piece about this for world suicide prevention day a couple of weeks ago, but what happened was I ended up writing a very last minute albeit very important addition to my upcoming book The Truth Is… (it almost didn’t make it!)
I’m not going to write here what I’ve written in my book because it draws on my own personal experiences and it's so incredibly personal that it will only ever be released within the confines of that book; but I will say this…
Any person who wants to accuse someone of using “suicidal ideation” as manipulation when they're in the midst of a genuine mental health crisis, is a part of the problem, not the solution.
Comments like this only create more taboo around a topic that needs to be discussed more openly so that more lives are saved.
It’s cold, it’s cruel, it’s heartless, and it’s inhumane!
Quite frankly the people who would rather label, criticise, downplay, make senseless and hurtful accusations, and further alienate someone for their mental health struggle are among in my opinion some of the most disgusting, callous, and evil people walking the planet.
The only thing that labelling someone's cry for help as "manipulation in the form of suicidal ideation" does is suppresses the voices of those who desperately long to be heard.
There is only one reason that comments like this are made by someone, and it’s because they know that their actions have contributed to the problem and they don’t want to be held accountable for it.
Someone like this either knows absolutely nothing about mental health or its true impacts, and they care not for those who are at its mercy.
We can choose to shut the door and remain ignorant like this type of person does, or we can open our hearts to empathy, understanding, compassion, and healing.
One saves lives, the other destroys the space that exists in order to do so.
Let yourself be someone that someone else can feel safe to call and speak to without judgement when the darkness makes them forget that there are people who care enough to make sure that they’re still here.
You’ve no idea of the daily battles that people fight every single day; and the single best thing that you can do is to simply allow them a safe space to communicate.
They already know that you can’t fix their problems or do the work that they know they need to do; they’re not looking for that from you.
All they want is a heart, an ear, and a warm hug that offers some reassurance that everything’s going to be okay.
Don’t blow the candle out in someone’s time of need; be the light that makes all the difference!
~ Mark Smith
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