Melly's Musings: World Suicide Prevention Day
My musings are usually quite light-hearted and although important to me, may go over the heads of other people. After all, the outfit I'm wearing or thoughts on my career may not affect everybody. However, I hope that this post will provoke your thoughts and provoke you into action.
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. As soon as this was brought to my attention (about 2 hours prior to writing this), I realised how profoundly the brief encounters I had had with suicide had affected my thoughts on it.
About a year ago, I encouraged a lady that I knew, from church. Truth is, she's a real inspiration. She's a cancer survivor and a mom. All I said to her was that I was inspired by her strength, faith and amazing attitude. No matter what, she held it together and still found ways to encourage and get alongside other people.
Following that, she actually came to me and thanked me. Adding that she had been extremely close to the edge and that my comment had helped to pull her back. I cry a little just thinking of that because I hadn't realised how powerful that message I sent was, at that moment.
Let me tell you something that you probably already know, your words are powerful. They can bring life or they can bring destruction. Use them wisely.
Sorry for getting all deep but I really can't emphasize enough that a throw-away comment, negative or positive echoes somewhere and people may always remember them.
Earlier this year, someone that I knew from primary and secondary school and through friends of friends took his own life. That is sad in itself. However, what really struck me is that he is the last person I ever expected to reach that point of desperation.
And this is what I wanted to focus on, in this post. It is often the person you least expect. The one who is loved and admired. The one who always had time for others and had a smile on their face. Which is why I think we should all take a moment to consider the word suicide and the actual notion of it. A person contemplating suicide rarely says that they are. Which is why it should not be banded around as much as it is.
What about celebrities who appear to have it all? Is it the pressure that comes with fame that would drive them to such desperate measures? It's impossible to tell.
We rarely understand why an individual chooses to take their own life. Sometimes, especially amongst teenagers, bullying is sadly a key factor. Maybe the hardest thing to deal with is not knowing how you could have helped someone.
So, why don't we make a pledge? To always try to consider why someone acts the way they do. That girl who always acts out, or has something mean to say is probably struggling on the inside. The person who everyone else turns to because think they can handle it may just need someone else's shoulder to cry on, sometimes.
The odd bit of encouragement has never hurt anybody. And you know what it can do for someone. If you know someone who is a loved one of someone who committed suicide, try to reassure them that it wasn't their fault. And if you are that individual, know that the choice was always theirs. Feeling guilty won't help you in moving forward - which is exactly what is best, after facing tragedy of such magnitude.
Like I said, I don't usually write things so personal but thought it would be good to bring such an important day to your attention and use this blog for some good, alongside fashion and fabulousness!
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. As soon as this was brought to my attention (about 2 hours prior to writing this), I realised how profoundly the brief encounters I had had with suicide had affected my thoughts on it.
About a year ago, I encouraged a lady that I knew, from church. Truth is, she's a real inspiration. She's a cancer survivor and a mom. All I said to her was that I was inspired by her strength, faith and amazing attitude. No matter what, she held it together and still found ways to encourage and get alongside other people.
Following that, she actually came to me and thanked me. Adding that she had been extremely close to the edge and that my comment had helped to pull her back. I cry a little just thinking of that because I hadn't realised how powerful that message I sent was, at that moment.
Let me tell you something that you probably already know, your words are powerful. They can bring life or they can bring destruction. Use them wisely.
Sorry for getting all deep but I really can't emphasize enough that a throw-away comment, negative or positive echoes somewhere and people may always remember them.
Earlier this year, someone that I knew from primary and secondary school and through friends of friends took his own life. That is sad in itself. However, what really struck me is that he is the last person I ever expected to reach that point of desperation.
And this is what I wanted to focus on, in this post. It is often the person you least expect. The one who is loved and admired. The one who always had time for others and had a smile on their face. Which is why I think we should all take a moment to consider the word suicide and the actual notion of it. A person contemplating suicide rarely says that they are. Which is why it should not be banded around as much as it is.
What about celebrities who appear to have it all? Is it the pressure that comes with fame that would drive them to such desperate measures? It's impossible to tell.
We rarely understand why an individual chooses to take their own life. Sometimes, especially amongst teenagers, bullying is sadly a key factor. Maybe the hardest thing to deal with is not knowing how you could have helped someone.
So, why don't we make a pledge? To always try to consider why someone acts the way they do. That girl who always acts out, or has something mean to say is probably struggling on the inside. The person who everyone else turns to because think they can handle it may just need someone else's shoulder to cry on, sometimes.
The odd bit of encouragement has never hurt anybody. And you know what it can do for someone. If you know someone who is a loved one of someone who committed suicide, try to reassure them that it wasn't their fault. And if you are that individual, know that the choice was always theirs. Feeling guilty won't help you in moving forward - which is exactly what is best, after facing tragedy of such magnitude.
Like I said, I don't usually write things so personal but thought it would be good to bring such an important day to your attention and use this blog for some good, alongside fashion and fabulousness!
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| Supporters of World Suicide Prevention Day are writing 'Love' on their wrists or wearing something yellow to show support. |
For more information on the awareness that is being raised for World Suicide Prevention Day, head over to the IASP website.
Lots of love,
Melly
xox
A really lovely Melly muse. <3
ReplyDeleteAaww, thanks Atomo! Just think it's an important thing to bring attention to, especially when it's spoken of so flippantly. And a huge chunk of the stats are young people x
ReplyDelete