Today, September 10, is #WorldSuicidePreventionDay. There are many reason why, despite more awareness than ever before, we continue to see negative trends in this space. Social media, the pandemic, political divides are all amongst them. But, per this graphic we put together, I want to talk abt a major one that doesn’t get enough attn:
We don’t talk openly abt this topic enough, & bc OF that, we lose more people TO it. Think abt it – suicide is a cause OF death, yet unlike other causes of death, we don’t discuss/prepare for it.
We talk all the time abt warning signs for heart attacks. We talk abt seat belts to prevent tragedies in car accidents. We talk abt floatation devices on every flight – if a plane goes down (mandatory). Yet, we don’t talk abt suicidal ideations, how common they are, & how to prepare for them, despite the #s showing Billions of ppl (yes, w a B) in our world, experience them.
I mentioned that @haydenrhurst @kevinhinesstory, some friends & I’ll be launching a tool for schools, offices, homes, etc., later this month to help folks better prepare & discuss this topic. But before then, please check out this graphic, & consider why not talking openly, leads to MORE deaths.
When we don’t talk abt it, & someone experiences intense ideations for the 1st time (like the boulder in this pic), their anxiety’s sky HIGH. “What are these thoughts? I’m the only one who has ‘em. They’re so intense & like nothing I’ve felt before.”
From those thoughts, anxiety speeds up & strengthens the intensity of the ideations (down hill).
Like a viscous cycle – the stronger the ideations, the more anxious we become (that boulder picking up momentum, climbing the anxious mountain again).
Now, w that speed, trying to stop these “error messages” from pushing us too far & acting out on them becomes near impossible w/o someone there to help us/stop us.
Look at this pic. Imagine anxiety wasn’t SO high to start bc we knew what to expect, bc we’d talked abt it before? The boulder wouldn’t have as much energy to take us over the proverbial edge you see here. We HAVE to start talking abt it openly, & in advance.
