“Every 40 seconds a person dies by suicide somewhere in the world,” according to a 2014 World Health Organization report. That’s 800,000 people each year. The Canadian Association of Suicide Prevention estimates that in my own country of Canada today,
11 people will end their lives by suicide.
210 others will attempt to end their lives.
77-110 people will become newly bereaved by suicide.
Suicide is an issue I am familiar with, and wrote about in my book, Hope for Wholeness: The Spiritual Path to Freedom from Depression.
Today, on World Suicide Prevention Day, I am sharing some excerpts from Hope for Wholeness on the topic of suicide.
If you’re carrying more than seems bearable to you, let someone you trust know. Reach out for help. Confide in a friend. Tell your doctor. Call a suicide hotline if you feel you are in suicidal danger, or get yourself to a hospital emergency room.
Trained counsellors, clergy members, and others can help us work through grief, loss, depression, disappointment, stress, loneliness, financial difficulties, and other things that may contribute to the despondency that can result in suicidal thoughts. Reach out for help.
In May of this year, someone asked author J.K. Rowling on Twitter what advice she would give a person “who has failed to find meaning” in life “and wants to finally give up.” Her answer was AMAZING. Even if you don’t feel like giving up on life, you will be affirmed by reading what Rowling had to say.
For more information on World Suicide Prevention Day, visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention’s website. To learn how to prevent suicide, or deal with its aftermath, visit the Canadian Association of Suicide Prevention’s website. For those who have lost a loved one to suicide, I recommend the book Aftershock: Help, Hope, and Healing in the Wake of Suicide.
If you are struggling with depression, grief, or another form of pain, and you can’t imagine living like this for the rest of your life, please believe me when I say these feelings are temporary. Life can get better. All you have to do is cope with one day, one hour, one minute at at time. And that’s far more manageable.
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Righting It 