**Trigger warning – This article discusses the desire to commit suicide and how to intervene. It is written in the form of a 1st person account of one who is suicidal. The goal is to allow the reader into the mind of someone who is suicidal, what should and shouldn’t be done. If you yourself are suicidal, or if you know someone who is, please seek immediate help** In the USA and Canada, call 988 to reach the suicide hotline Dear Friends, I write to you today with a heart full of sorrow, yet also with hope—a hope that this letter can open a window of understanding into the silent, often invisible, struggles that lead someone to consider ending their own life. I know this is not easy to read. I know it’s a difficult topic, and one that may leave you feeling uncertain, even scared. But I need you to understand. You need to understand. There are moments in life when it feels like the weight of the world has become unbearable. It can feel as though the darkness is closing in from all sides, squeezing the very breath from your chest. The pain is constant—emotional, mental, physical—and no matter how hard you try, it doesn’t seem to get any better. People tell you that things will improve, that things will get better in time. But it feels as though time only makes the weight heavier. You feel worthless, like a burden to everyone around you. And eventually, you might start to believe that the world would be better off without you. Sometimes you feel like the only way to stop the pain is by ceasing to exist. I don’t want to make it sound like there’s a simple reason for why someone might think about suicide. There isn’t. It’s not always about one thing—one traumatic event, or one painful loss. Sometimes it’s just an accumulation of everything: rejection, failure, loneliness, hopelessness. All these thoughts start to swirl together, becoming a fog that clouds everything in your life. The idea of escape, of relief, becomes the only way out. And even though there’s still a small part inside that clings to life, it gets harder and harder to hear that voice over the loud, overwhelming one telling you that it just isn’t worth it to live any longer. I’m writing to you, not as someone who has found all the answers, but as someone who has and is currently walking that dark road. I’m writing to ask for your help—your genuine, heartfelt help. I know you want to help, but I also know that some of you really don’t know how to properly help. I’ll take a moment to let you know what really can make a positive impact, and what might actually make things worse. What’s Helpful: ● Listen without judgment: Sometimes, the best thing you can do is simply listen. Let us speak without trying to fix it or offer solutions right away. Don’t ever interrupt. Don’t be dismissive. Don’t debate. Just listen to the pain in our words. Sometimes we just need someone who will hear us. ● Acknowledge the pain: Don’t tell us that we shouldn’t feel the way we do. Don’t tell us to “snap out of it” or “just think positive.” The pain […]