September is suicide prevention month but there is never a better time to talk about suicide prevention. There’s a big stigma around suicide and mental illness and it needs to end. This stigma causes people that have mental illnesses to be ashamed of their mental health when all they really need is help, and help is easily attainable. They don’t get help for things that are normal for humans to have and that are easily treated. Senior Anna Perry made a comment about this, “People who commit suicide are often seen as selfish or crazy for doing what they did and this stigma is caused by a lack of education surrounding suicide. The stigma is a problem because when people are hurting so much that they want to end everything, asking for help can be one of the hardest things to do. Often people are pushed to suicide because they don’t want to be seen as weak or selfish.” Mental health is, sadly, something that isn’t spoken about enough. People push it to the side, don’t take it seriously, and it’s because they just don’t understand it. A lot of parents in this generation don’t understand it because of how they were raised. They don’t see mental illness as an “illness” that people need help and recovery from, they see it as something to “get over” and “move on” from. Mental illness is so much more than that and it is just as important as physical illness. If people were simply more educated on mental illness, a lot of kids, teenagers, adults, wouldn’t feel shame to go get the help they need.
So, people need to be educated on mental illness, but what can society do to help people that are afraid to ask for help? Well, if people took the time to educate themselves or get educated, they can learn ways to help. You don’t need to be a licensed psychologist or counselor to help someone who is struggling. A simple hug could work. If you genuinely care, just listen. Most of the time the people that struggle with mental illness simply just want someone to listen and understand. Senior Jordyn Gass made a comment about how society as a whole can help, “We can all be more understanding. Don’t shy away from topics like this. Talk about how you’re depressed. Talk about how your anxiety affects you. If we all talk about our feelings more, people will realize they’re not as alone as they thought.” A lot of people are scared of the topic of depression, anxiety, etc. There’s no need to be scared because so many people go through it every single day. Fortunately, there’s so people willing to help such as psychologists, counselors, and psychiatrists. There’s no shame in going to therapy or having medicine for anxiety, depression, whatever it may be. If you find something that helps you, then more power to you.
In the end, we’re all going to live our lives no matter how long or short. It’s important to try and make the most of life. We are all on different paths and we all experience different things. Pain is immeasurable and is incomparable but we all go through some type of pain. Whether it takes a bigger toll on you than someone else doesn’t matter. Make sure you help yourself first and put your mental and you physical health on the same scale. Mental illness is just as painful and draining as physical illness. We’re all going through it. Remember you’re never alone, there’s always going to be something to look forward to, and everything is going to be okay. If you’re in distress and need to talk to someone immediately call 1-800-273-8255. If you don’t feel comfortable talking on the phone, text HOME to 741741. Stay strong.
