TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of suicide, rape, and sexual assault.

On January 30th, 2018, former "Glee" star Mark Salling put a very abrupt end to his young life. He sealed his fate permanently this past Tuesday, committing suicide by hanging himself from a tree. His body was found in the San Fernando Valley near his Sunland, California home after six hours had passed since the filing of a missing person's report.

Whether you follow "Glee" or not, you may remember hearing about Salling this past December when he pled guilty to possession of child pornography. Police recovered his flash drive, which contained about 50,000 photos of prepubescent minors. To make matters worse for the 35-year-old actor, he had already built himself up a rap from allegations of rape and sexual assault made against him.

Salling was supposed to be sentenced officially on March 7th. He would have spent four to seven years in prison, registered as a sex offender, paid restitution to the victims and their families, and abided by residency restrictions.

All of this was too much for Salling to bear. He must have felt that his life had gone so horribly wrong that there was no chance of finding the light. He had every right to fear what his future would hold; prison transforms people in ways unimaginable to those who have never been incarcerated. Salling was truly terrified that, no matter what he gave back to the public to atone for his crimes, his reputation would forever suffer from his past mistakes.

He convinced himself that there was nothing left for him to hope or to strive for, and with this mantra in his mind, he took his own life.

If you take away nothing else from this story, know that suicide is not a coping mechanism.

Suicide is NEVER the answer. It is finding a permanent escape route from temporary problems. No matter how horrible your situation seems, know that suicide does nothing but obliterate any chances of your life getting better.

Mark Salling made some huge mistakes in his life that hurt a lot of innocent people. For that, he indubitably deserved some kind of harsh punishment. You have every right to hate his actions and his crimes, and maybe even him as a whole. But no one, no one, should wish insufferable pain upon a human being capable of feeling empathy and love for others.

Salling wasn't a sociopath, nor was he a psychopath; he was a misguided adult who apparently had been heading down a dark path for years. That doesn't excuse his hideous crimes by any means, but it also doesn't mean he deserved the self-torment that drove him to suicide. He thought that killing himself would do the world a favor, but all he did was do himself a grave injustice.

There is always help for the living, but once you kill yourself, you've lost every opportunity to heal and grow as a person. Learn from Salling's fatal mistake; instead of committing suicide, commit yourself to facing your fears and your problems. Please, never seek suicide as your escape from your life's suffering.

I promise you, there is always a way out that doesn't involve you leaving this beautiful world.

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, visit the link or call the hotline number below. There are more people out there who want to see you heal than you think. Please stay safe, everyone.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-8255

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org