Too many people are dying: Suicide must stop

The global suicide rate keeps rising. And it’s our fault. The people around us are in pain and that’s because we’re not supporting each other as we should. This must stop. We can’t keep allowing people to die because we haven’t given them the right help.

Depression only exists because we allow it to. There’s no need for it, it serves no purpose at all. We can eliminate it. And we do that by raising confident, creative, and self-aware individuals.

We do it by reminding the grown-ups of this world of the power that comes from sharing our stories and of the sheer joy that using our imaginations can bring.

We do it by the power of creativity.

Writing saved my life. That may sound melodramatic, but it’s also true. I’m not going to bore you with my life story, but here’s the edited version:

I always wanted to be a mother and I always assumed I would be a mother. After all, that’s what women do, isn’t it?

Only it never happened for me and I eventually found myself, at the age of 47, finally having to face the fact that the one thing I wanted out of life just wasn’t going to happen for me.

I was left with a choice. I had to decide if I was going to drink myself to an early grave or find something else to fill my life with. I’m still here, so obviously I chose to find something else to feel passionate about.

By this stage, I’d been working in mental health for over 20 years and I’d told countless clients to write out your feelings.

I decided to take my own advice.

And my whole life changed. I rediscovered a love of writing. So much so, that I’m currently writing a novel, a blog, and articles for a content agency during the day.

If writing can save my life, then it can probably save someone else’s life. Maybe hundreds of someone else’s lives. Maybe it can help lower the suicide rate of our young people.

Being dead should never be the best option for our young people. Or our adults. We need to fix this crisis. We need to stop shaking our heads and tsk-tsking when we hear of yet another suicide and instead, we need to do something about it.

Turn the demon Depression into a thing of beauty

Or as I call it, a creature of fucking beauty (CFB).

If I sound angry, it’s because I am and I can’t understand why other people aren’t as angry at the suicide rate as I am. I know there’s been a lot going on in the world recently and yes, those matters need to be fixed. But so does suicide.

It’s not acceptable. It’s just not. It’s not noble or romantic and it’s sure as hell not the only solution! The problem is, that by the time we get to the point where we think it is our best option, it’s often too late.

We need to hit the problem of suicide a lot earlier. We need to teach our children that it’s okay to feel like shit and it’s okay to talk about feeling like shit. Telling kids that it will all be fine and you just need to think positively does them a disservice. And it’s a fucking lie.

Good mental health does not come from thinking positively. It comes from being able to actively manage your own emotions. All of them. All emotions, which include: sadness, anger, frustration, anxiety, grief. All are acceptable things to feel and all of us feel them.

It has to end. Suicide has to end.