They say laughter is the best medicine. I don't disagree—in the years of my recovery, the best moments I have had were when people were laughing and celebrating life. Yet there are some people who believe that you can joke about suicide and casually display annoyance with life with the phrase, "I'm gonna kill myself."

Suicide is a serious subject. It is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. It is an issue that does not seem to be easing up either, as celebrity deaths such as Chester Bennington, Kate Spade, and Anthony Bourdain populate our newsfeeds.

Making fun of suicide, or downplaying its severity, should be considered an act of ignorance. It blindly adds to the stigma of mental illness. People joke about it because they don't know what constitutes suicide and mental illness. They don't know how to gain control over intense emotions and moments, so they make fun of it.

Because mental illness is an invisible perpetrator, it's easy to make fun of it. Doing that allows the jokester to step away from their problems. It's a defense mechanism for some, really. People don't want to focus on the sad, grim reality of suicide and instead, joke about it to show that it's okay (even though it shouldn't be).

As someone who is diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, I cringe whenever someone attempts to make fun of suicide. It is a trigger for me as it reminds me of when I nearly died in 2014 from my own attempt. I look at my self-inflicted scars and wonder if the jokester is being real and honest with me. It scares me because I would never want anyone to suffer the way that I do. And if they are being disingenuous, then it frustrates me because it feels like to me they are belittling my journey with mental illness.

As a result, when we trivialize suicide, we also trivialize their truly-suicidal moments. We don't take their cries for help seriously. Because the distinction between suicide and joking about it then is ambiguous, how can we take care of the person suffering? How can we know when they want help? Do they even want help?

We shouldn't normalize or glorify suicide through jokes whatsoever—what we do need to do is talk about how we can prevent it and destigmatize it and mental illness. Like I've said, suicide is a serious subject; for someone to go to that drastic measure and end their life shows how much suffering they are going through.

It takes courage to come out and say you're suicidal because of the assumptions and judgments people make. But a person shouldn't have to build up the nerves to confess their suicidal thoughts; looking for help should always be the first step in getting better. Suicide is not a joke and should not be taken lightly as a joke—your life is valuable despite the thoughts you are having. If you or a loved one is thinking about suicide, please call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. There is always hope.