This past week a young teenage girl from the neighborhood took her own life. I didn’t know the family directly but immediately my heart became burdened for them. Up until last year I never knew anyone that had committed suicide. When it directly impacted me it changed my perspective on mental illness forever. I use to whole heartily believe there were giant flashing signs pointing down on the person indicating that they were depressed or anxious. I could not have been more wrong. Yes, sometimes there are signs but the more terrifying fact is that most of the times there aren’t any. While I knew my close one had bouts of anxiety I never ever imagined the levels to which it obviously weighed on her. In fact, she was always so happy. She was unnervingly upbeat. She was always smiling. Her passing rocked me to my core and made me realize that no matter what, you can never know what another person is tormented with. This young girl’s family will forever be impacted just as the family of my close one. The absence of their young lives will be felt every day in every moment. It will never go away. It changes you. This is a sentence that no one should have to endure. While I don’t think we will ever live in a world without suicide, I do hope we start living in one that is better able to understand mental illness so it declines, significantly.
No comments:
Post a Comment