September 6th through 12th was National Suicide Prevention week.

Many times I’ve heard this about suicide: “how selfish.” But during National Suicide Prevention week, a post from TWLOHA (To Write Love On Her Arms), really stuck with me and challenged that line of thinking. I forget the woman’s exact words, but they went something like: suicide is not a selfish act, rather it is done because people feel the world would be better off without them.

People feel the world would be better off without them.

Have you ever felt the world would be better off without you? That you are of negative value? That you are so much of a burden to the people around you that everyone would be better off if you were dead?

If you feel that way, or you have felt that way, you are not alone. Especially during COVID. In June of 2020, 10.7% of adults and 25.5 % of young adults between 18 and 25 seriously considered suicide.

Every person is precious and significant, but sometimes, it is really hard to know how to support people. And sometimes, it can be really hard to ask for help. Sometimes, when people reach out to their family, they are not taken seriously, or maybe they are laughed at or even yelled at.

Strangely, I’ve found that many people are shy about showing and expressing love and care. If we are honest, we are all in need of tons of love, because we know how much it means to us, we shouldn’t be shy about going all out to tell others how much we love them. It’s okay to ask people how they are doing if we feel something is off. And it’s okay to offer to be there and to be a friend.

If you or someone you know is struggling or considering suicide, there are resources available:

• call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255
• In the US, you can text TWLOHA to 741741 to be connected to a trained crisis counselor for free, 24/7. (In the UK text SHOUT to 85258. In Canada text TWLOHA to 686868.)
• Find on-line support groups
• Find a Celebrate Recovery group