I’m taking a break from my normal jewelry focused blogging to bring attention to a topic that most of us don’t want to talk about: suicide. With the high-profile suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain happening this week within just days of each other, it’s important for each of to realize that you can’t see what someone else is going through. I heard a quote this morning within this discussion “you don’t know the roof is leaking unless you’re on the inside” which left a profound impression upon me. It’s easy to say what you would or wouldn’t do or what your opinions are on these particular individuals that outwardly appeared to have everything. I’ve heard terms like “selfish, cowards, evil, sick, mentally ill” among many others being thrown around about these people. You didn’t know them or what was going on in their lives or minds that made them decide to take their own lives. Something had to be so unbearable to them that they felt that there was no escaping their particular situation.
Suicide is not a new occurrence, but there has been a marked increase over the last couple of decades. The rise of social media and the accessibly to the internet have greatly contributed to the increase. Anyone in the public eye is subjected to intense ridicule on a daily basis and some may say that that’s the price that they pay for being famous, but they are not the only ones being ridiculed. Bullies used to be those jerks that were just isolated to your school or neighborhood, but with the advent of the internet, bullies have become even more powerful today than they ever had before. There have been numerous instances and subsequent news reports on how people have been bullied literally to their death.
Constructive criticism to you may be a gut punch to someone else and we each take things very differently. While we all shouldn’t have to walk on egg shells, we all should to take a breath and start thinking about the ramifications of what we are saying and doing to those around us. Not everyone is going to take things the way that you do. Something that is offensive to you, could be perfectly ok with someone else.
We, as a society, have to stop placing a stigma on people when they seek help. Mental illness is real and it’s not about serial killers or rapists. There are many levels of mental illness and because the medical and pharmaceutical industries have made a fortune marketing and prescribing their “happy pills”, I believe that they are failing us all. For decades, doctors working in conjunction with pharmaceutical companies, have over prescribed us all. It seems that there’s a “pill” for everything. More time has to be directed at the underlying causes of what makes us feel the way that we do and teach us coping skills rather than to throw some meds at us.
These will not be the last people that make this choice, but if you or someone you know is having a difficult time or has even discussed suicide, please seek help. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-TALK (8255) has received an increase in calls, but there are people available to talk to you and to help you to get the help that you need. There are people available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to assist you. Please accept their help. You can never, ever be replaced, there is no one else in the world like you and there is no one else in your world that is like you! Live!