Suicide prevention is key to survival.  Hard thing is that some people give little or no clue as to what they are thinking and feeling .  I do maintain static pages on this blog. One of them is information I learned when taking ‘Suicide prevention and Teens’ class.  Whenever I start to think my childhood wasn’t THAT bad I remind myself of the death count, 3 murders, 7 suicides with a couple of questionable deaths that may or may not be suicide.

https://ptsd-acceptingcopingthriving.com/suicide/slap-dirt/

My counselor threatened me, encouraged, used whatever means he legally could to keep me choosing to live.  One day he stopped mid sentence….”You aren’t afraid to die.” I shrugged, “They can only kill me once.  The torture of living can go on and on.”  He then spent many, many sessions showing me the value of living.  I am thankful for his persistence and belief that life is a beautiful thing even when pain is part of living.  He was an extraordinary man and I am thankful he was my therapist.

If you are worried about someone, ask them.  Open  a conversation.  If you are contemplating suicide, ask for help, reach out.   It is in the darkness of isolation that the decision to live can be the toughest.  Human connections pull us together or rip us apart.  Treat others with the tender loving care they need, include yourself in that tenderness.

Choosing to live sometimes feels like crawling out of a bottomless pit.  (Mine shaft that could lose the Empire State building.)