If you read the papers, scroll through social media or you happen to see the news, you will most likely see a story about someone who recently died. But when is the last time you saw an in-depth story, an article or a full news story on TV about someone committing suicide? You don't.
The world doesn't want to talk about suicide. The world doesn't want to talk about teenagers dying at an alarming rate. The society we live in doesn't want others to know how easy it is to commit suicide. The communities don't want their kids talking about it, learning about it or even dealing with it. Nobody wants suicide to make the news. But let me tell you a simple fact: nobody just decides to die. Suicide isn't something someone does for fun.
If you are a kid in today's society, you will get bullied. You will get laughed at by people in society. You will get teased. You will get insulted. You will get criticized and you will get called names. God forbid if you are transgender or if you are questioning your sexuality if you are in elementary, middle or high school; you are at risk for being ridiculed, teased, mistreated, abused, harassed and bullied beyond your wildest dreams. Just because you want to make a choice on your own, live your own life and do your own thing, you will most likely be treated in a manner that you would never expect.
But what happens next is not something society wants to talk about. They don't want to talk about kids being humiliated. They don't want to talk about kids harming themselves. They don't want to talk about the fallout of the treatment at the hands of other children and sometimes even adults. But nobody just decides to die. Suicide isn't something someone does for fun.
A person does not simply wake up one day, look in the mirror and say to themselves, "I think today is a great day to die." It just doesn't happen that way. A person who commits suicide has been pushed beyond their limits. They have been abused, ridiculed, bullied and they have been treated in a way nobody deserves. It doesn't happen overnight.
The schools in our communities are a joke. They claim "zero tolerance" for bullying. But you can ask any kid in any school system in our community. They will laugh at the "no bullying" policy. They will laugh at administration. They will openly tell you the superintendent doesn't care, the principals don't care, the jocks and athletes get away with anything. But it's always been that way. Bullying from years ago was face-to-face and now it occurs on every platform of social media. If you add up all of this treatment, the name-calling, the bullying, the abuse and the ridicule, you now get what people say when they talk about how someone doesn't just wake up one day and decide to die. Suicide isn't something someone does for fun.
It comes over a long period of time. It is the result of being picked on. It's the result of being ignored. It's the result of nobody caring. It's the result of nobody paying attention. It is the result of people teasing, insulting, criticizing and belittling you. It is the result of mental illness. And at times, it's the result of parents not caring.
If nobody takes you seriously, why would you want to keep living? It is not condoning suicide by this article. It is not saying it is an easy way out. But people are so quick to judge. They are so quick to criticize, insult and say someone didn't care. But what people don't realize is that maybe people did care. Maybe the person who committed suicide cared enough to stop bringing people down? Maybe they cared enough to not put their loved ones through any more pain by having them watch the misery, the agony, the unhappiness and the loneliness they are suffering in life. Maybe that person just decided to put an end to it all after days, months or years of being miserable. People don't know. Nobody can say what goes on in a person's mind before they decide to do it.
But nobody just wakes up one day and decides to die. Suicide isn't something someone does for fun.
A person doesn't just decide to wake up on Monday morning, look in the mirror and tell themselves, "I want to die today." It doesn't happen that way. it is the result of mental illness, struggles that have occurred over a long period of time and maybe at some point, the person gets sick of dealing with it and decides to not deal with it any longer.
Suicide is not something to be taken lightly. It affects not only the person that decides to die, but it affects their family. If they are a parent, they leave children behind. If they are a sibling, they leave other family behind. No matter who does it, how they do it, where they do it or even why they do it, it affects not only the person that decides to do it but everyone who has ever been associated with that person. Old high school friends you haven't heard from in years find out. An old neighbor. An old classmate. Maybe an old co-worker finds out what happens. And then it's done. The person who commits suicide can't be brought back.
But not one person has ever decided to simply wake up one day and die. I can't imagine suicide is something that someone would do for fun. Unfortunately, the experience is one that I have dealt with. Suicide is something that has affected my life. Former friends, former co-workers and people who were cared about deeply committed suicide. It has happened. I have seen what it's like. It is not a pretty story. It is not a story that can be put in the comics in the local newspaper. It is not a story that will ever be forgotten.
I have never committed suicide nor have I ever even considered it. Life is too precious. There are too many special things to be seen. There are too many amazing people to encounter in life. But sadly, some people do not think of it that way. They are tired. They are frustrated. They are sad. They are angry. They are depressed. They suffer from mental illness. The list goes on. No one truly knows what someone is thinking. But it cannot be an easy decision to finally put an end to it all.
It is difficult to imagine why anyone would want to commit suicide. But it is difficult to think someone wakes up one day and just decides to die. Suicide does not seem like the likely choice for someone to do as a hobby for fun. But one question always remains after someone has done it.
Why?
If you or someone you know needs to talk to someone, reach out. The suicide hotline is available. There are counselors. There are therapists. Talk to a family member. Talk to a friend. Talk to a loved one. But just remember: deciding to commit suicide is a drastic decision you can't change or retract. If you do it?
There is no coming back.
