OVERCOMING SUICIDAL THOUGHTS
Life can sometimes become very complicated and the going might get tough, but the bravest thing you can ever do is to continue living your life no matter what. Being at the end of your strength is part of being human; feeling low and unwilling to carry on is not the strangest of feelings. It is a necessary part of surviving and winning. The wave of depression rages against every sail, but the dark abyss and the beckoning voice of the void are not all there is to life. Beyond the dark sabotaging place of defeat and loneliness lies a meadow of peace, progress, and prosperity. Indeed, there is more to life than the voices and forces acting on us to quit and give up.
Moreover, suicide or suicidal thoughts do not respect persons; it affects everyone regardless of one’s race, social status, religion, sex, gender, or color. The person next to you might just be a step away from taking his own life. You cannot always tell a person contemplating suicide by the smiles they wear, the makeup on their faces, and the perfume around their presence. They would look just fine and incapable of such things at times, but deep down, they are losing it all. So many people are at the threshold of ending their lives and you would not know unless they are encouraged to open up. Unfortunately, the stigma and social stereotypes against suicide make it difficult for depressed people to speak up and seek help.
Every suicide is a tragedy; an unfortunate loss to humanity. According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, over 700,000 people take their lives every year and it is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-19 year-olds. In the news, we read and hear how people fall to their deaths, intentionally drink poisonous substances, run into a fast-moving car, or hang themselves to their death. While it is easy to pass judgment from a distance, victims are often trapped in the difficult vortex of depression where they think there is no other possible way out of their predicament.
According to research, some of the leading causes of suicide include mental disorders (such as depression, autism spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, and anxiety disorders), impulsive acts due to stress (such as from academic or financial difficulties), relationship problems (such as divorces or breakups), physical disorder (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), or bullying/harassment. For a person on the verge of committing suicide, nothing else makes sense.
Are you or do you know someone contemplating suicide? One thing is certain; when your heart is full of thoughts of taking your own life, nothing will seem to make sense anymore. You are most likely going to think you have come to the end of the road and no one would miss you when you are gone. The simplest things around you could trigger you into doing the unthinkable.
However, there is no problem known that cannot be solved, no mountains too high to climb, and no difficult moments too impossible to resolve. Instead of ending your life as most cowards do, it is important to know that everything will soon be alright. Be brave enough to wait, the most complex crises would be resolved. Be positive enough to hope, time heals all wounds. Be courageous enough to pray. For God says, “do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand” (Isaiah 55: 11). His plans towards you are plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29: 11).
Do not listen to the voices urging you to end your own life; it is not a courageous thing to do. Suicide is a sign of weakness; it shows you are unwilling to fight for the beautiful life you deserve and would rather quit than continue pressing on to victory. There are great names who have battled suicidal thoughts at one point or the other in their journey.
For instance, Dolly Parton suffered severe depression through the 1980s, and according to her, it was an awful time because she was unable to conceive before she hit menopause. Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, suffered so much depression that he pushed important people out of his life. He said, “I was in the lowest place I have ever been. Honestly, I sort of, at one point, felt like I did not want to see another day. I felt like it should be over.” He became addicted to substances and was losing it all. However, he was surrounded by the love of his fiancée who helped his emotional turnaround.
Who could believe that people like J. K. Rowling, Jim Carry, Ellen Degeneres, Eminem, Chris Evans, Harrison Ford, Jon Hamm, Lady Gaga, and Demi Lovato could ever think of taking their own lives? They seem to be too successful and accomplished to be so wrecked emotionally. Their great success story, towering accolades, and enduring legacies would easily cloud our judgments to think they were never so sad and broken. Nevertheless, we hear of their exploits and greatness today because they did not give up. If they had ended it when the energy was at its lowest, they would have died ignoble death and gone to the grave with such glorious destinies.
Life is a journey of the process; it spins and unfolds in stages and it becomes different things to different people at different times. Sometimes, we find ourselves up on the hill on that bright and better side of life. We bask in the sunshine and dance with gladness when the lines fall for us in pleasant places. But what goes on in our frail minds when time tilts towards uncertainties as it would sometimes do?
We know that our journey in this vault of time is full of ups and downs, __highs and lows. We are seen and celebrated on the hill but it is in the valley that makes the difference; that is where winners and leaders are born. Do not be discouraged when you are confused and directionless, do not quit when you are tired and exhausted and do not give up when you stumble walking through the labyrinth of destiny. Gold is baked in the furnace, great legacies are built through courage, sacrifice, and resilience.
Do not lose your spark in the sheets of somber clouds or lose your glow in the gloom of fleeting trials. No matter what mountain stands tall in your way, suicide is never an option. When it is dark and cloudy around you, and the path seems laced with thorns and thistles, have the will of steel, and the patience of Job, and nothing would be able to stop you.
Leave a comment behind