The Face of Suicide

  Following the suicide of Robin Williams, may have taken to social media outlets sharing their shock and a collaborative, "he didn't look suicidal".  So I beg to ask you.......what does suicidal look like? We assume that the person channeling Eyor daily is the one that we must place on suicide watch.......but NO.  We do NOT truly know what is behind the smile at the coffee shop, the bubbly profile or uplifting posts, because we no longer go further than the surface.  We have obtained multiple tools in order to remain connected or regain connections with people.......YET we are no longer [truly] connected.

     Think about it.  How many times have you been TOO BUSY to listen to a friend or family member that has called you in distress?  How many times have you been more willing to sit around and lend a gossiping ear rather than a helping hand?  Do you know more about reality stars than your family?

     Yet when someone you know has decided that they can no longer fight their demons......you weep, you speak of great they were.  It is AFTER they are no longer, that the masses chime out, "they could have come to me", "I had no idea they were going through anything".  But there are no tears or thoughts of guilt.  The thought NEVER crosses one's mind that they offered no help… they simply added to another's issues.

      The news is becoming bombarded with tales of people, from young children to adults, taking their own lives.  Whether their depression is caused by an additional mental illness or bullying…..it’s becoming too common of an occurrence.  Bullying is nothing new, but the environment that is now permitting it to flourish and our lack of teaching children to deal with it is.

     Once again, we want to offer help, advice and compassion after the life light is no longer burning.  This helps NO ONE.  It simply perpetuates the feeling that a person is not worth anything until they are dead.  That they will not receive love and acceptance until they are a memory. 

    

  There is NO look of suicide.  There is NO WAY to look at someone and know the pain that is held beneath the surface.  You can hear someone’s pain when you LISTEN.  You can feel their pain when you CARE.  You cannot expect people to have the time to run to your aid while you are shutting them out.  Popularity does NOT take away a person’s pain.  It is very easy to sit in a room full of people that know of you and feel completely ALONE. 

     Money does NOT heal a person.  Even those with financial security have demons that convince them that they are not worthy.

     Understand that all of us need one another to survive.  You were not born to yourself…..you will never live to yourself…..you will not die to yourself.  No matter how much you try to convince yourself that (unless a twin, etc.) you are born alone….you are wrong.  You need at least your mother to be present.  No matter how much you try to believe that people can exist as an island…you are wrong.  You rely on thousands of people each day…whether you see them or even know their names.  Keep trying to convince yourself that you will die alone….WRONG.  You will be surrounded by many people.  You will need them to care for your remains, etc. 

    Therefore why shun another and increase their pain until it drives them into the grave?  Instead of looking for the face of suicide, realize that we are one unit.  All of our faces……the face of innocence….the face of age……all plausible faces of suicide.