This is the beginning of the most important conversation we will ever have.
This year, collective life has further pulled back the curtains of something we still don’t invite to the dinner table. Something we assume isn’t a problem until it is. A pain so personal it’s rarely public. A cry so silent, it’s not heard until it’s too late. A topic so vulnerable, we don’t make space unburdened by taboo. Yet, this completely common feeling transcends geography, race, class, age, religion, physical ability, and more.
If we are breathing, it’s all around us. It is common. It is in your home. It is in your marriage. It’s in your school. It’s with your friend right now. It is potentially within you too. It has a name. It’s time we start using it more often.
It is depression. It is a moving target of mental health. It is the loss of imagination. It is the fading of hope. It is the isolation from connection. It is sadness, loneliness, emptiness, and otherness.
It is also ok. It is also common. It is ok. It is common.
But sometimes, just sometimes, it becomes suicide.
Suicide.
And it’s real that every day people feel drawn to suicide.
It’s also real that everyday people find ways beyond. Hands to hold. Steps to walk. Hearts to listen to. And love, so much love, to feel. But it’s real that it can be hard.
Last year, we kicked off a new tradition we call Do Good, Be Well. A day where we swap out the consumerism of Black Friday for wellness, introspection, and giving forward to a cause near and dear to our land.
This year, and likely beyond, mental health and suicide dialogue and prevention are where our waters will flow.
Stay tuned to learn how, together, we can do some good and be well.
If today finds you thinking tomorrow may not rise, YOU ARE LOVE. WE LOVE YOU. Consider chatting anonymously with someone who can help at 800-273-8255.