Suicide Isn’t Funny 

Hello readers! First of all, I apologize for not posting! My life has been stressful trying to figure out what my next chapter of life will be. I haven’t really had the energy to write! Well I’ll write drafts then by the time I should be in my concluding paragraph I will frankly forget where I going with post. 

A few weeks ago I started watching a new series on Television. I’m not going to say the name of the show, I’ll be the first to say that it was not wholesome. I should not have been watching it. I was though and the content hilarious. At the beginning of the series, the topic of mental health. It was put together in such a way that it was making fun of mental illness- suicidal actions to be exact. I have to admit. I was laughing but I felt guilty about it. I never laugh about suicide!!! Something about the way that it was presented made it look “Funny.”

This was weeks ago and I still feel guilty. I actually re-watched it a few times. Those times I was specifically watching for the ways that the writers of the show made mental illness look humorous. Each time watching it, I became more displeased and disgusted. 

I am a caring person and so naturally mental health is important to me. I probably care more about my friends mental health then physical health. I love to give hugs and ask, “How’s life?” If something is wrong, I don’t want to leave them until I know that they are feeling at least sort of okay. Most of the time a little therapy session over coffee does the trick. A Starbucks drunk and saying, “Everything will be okay” works nine times out of ten. 

Sometimes everything won’t be okay though.

 Sometimes it comes out over coffee that they don’t want to continue fighting. 

Sometimes the thought of waking up one more morning is just to unbearable. 

Sometimes I have to beg them to keep going. 

Sometimes the only thing I can do is hold them.

Those conversations are the hardest of all to have. I have personally been on both sides of the conversation, both are uncomfortable. I have tried to share hope when I didn’t believe the words that were coming out of my mouth. The only “bad” part about being a caring person- sometimes they tell you the truth and sometimes the truth isn’t easy to hear. 

Thoughts about harming yourself are serious. They are not something to joke about or merely brush off. I have been way to close to saying goodbye to others because of suicide. It’s not a topic to take light heartedly. If we are having coffee and you say something alluding to death, I will question you about what context you ment it. 

When jokes are made about suicide you are not thinking about the victims. I don’t mean just the person who couldn’t bear living anymore. I mean their parents who will never see their child again. The best friend who will never be able to call them on the phone again. The sibling who will never be able eat a family dinner with them. The pet who wonders why their owner never came home one evening. Those are the victims of suicide. You are taking the victims pain and turning your head the other direction, and you are ignorant of the value that life has. 

Suicide is not funny. It is serous. If you are feeling suicidal please take to heart what I have to say. 

No matter how much pain you have gone through you can be healed. No matter what you have done or someone has done to you, you can heal. You can forgive yourself. It may take alot of time but you can forgive those who hurt you. There’s nothing wrong with you. You are not ‘crazy.’  You will get through this. I love you and more importantly the Savior will welcome you with open arms. I made it through, so can you. 

“In the end, everything will be okay.”