121 people commit suicide per DAY. 44,193 people commit suicide per YEAR. Shocking right? Heartbreaking right? And this is only in the United States.

Now imagine the world.

ONE MILLION each YEAR. This is about one suicide every 40 seconds or 3,000 suicides per DAY.

When will this number stop?

Suicide is a taboo topic. Everyone tries to tiptoe around the subject and refer to someone as “passing away” or “died.” But they never seem to say, “They committed suicide.” They don’t even want to say what truly happened, which it can be a hard thing to say, but it deserves to be said. It deserved acknowledgment to bring awareness. Even the word suicide itself has been considered taboo and is almost like a curse word for some people because they refuse to say it. Well, if the word bothers you that much and you truly don’t want to say it, then I would advise stopping reading this article right now because I will say it over and over and over until the taboo label comes off.

I am 20 years old. I struggle with mental illness, I have been in the hospital for it, I continue to deal with it every day, I have been where some others have. I am 20 years old. 20. 2 decades of life. And in these 20 years I have lived on this earth, in some way that has related to me personally or second, third, or fourth-handedly, I have experienced 6 suicides. Some of them being family members, some of them being people in my community, others being people who were friends of friends. Although I may not have personally known all of these people, it still has broken my heart because anyone who takes their life, is going to hurt everyone in some way. I, along with many others, have experienced 6 deaths by suicide. With each story, it gets harder and harder to hear and the world becomes a little more cruel. In 2 years, there have been 4 suicides and 2 others in the span of 5 years. Just when you think it will stop, you receive the news of yet another beautiful soul being taken that was hurting to the point of where they thought to be no repair. NO ONE should experience this amount of suicide in a small amount of time, or experience ANY suicides at all.

Suicide needs to be talked about as often as people talk about the score of a sports game.

I would like to compare it to baseball, or any other sport. In baseball, you score home runs. You have two teams. In this case, suicidal thoughts and the person experiencing them. You have your favorite team that you want to win the game. You root for them to score and get the highest score and win the game. So why not do this with suicide?

Imagine your friend is suicidal. You want them to score home runs. These home runs can be seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years and birthdays. They made it from a Wednesday to a Thursday, they lived another day? Home run. They went an hour living when an hour ago they wanted to end it? Home run. They made it to their 21st birthday? Home run. Although these may seem small, in this case, these triumphs are huge and these little increments of time mean everything. Time means everything. You want your friend to win the game by scoring home runs. You want them to beat the other team. You want them to win the World Series, which would be living a happy, healthy life. You want them to score home runs for the rest of eternity and never ever give up and you want them to LIVE.

No one should EVER experience suicide, feel suicidal, or commit suicide. There are SO many resources available. Mental health is JUST, if not more, important than physical health. You wouldn't ignore someone with cancer and tell them to just get over it would you? So why would you tell someone with depression to “just be happy?”

Just because it's not visible, doesn't mean it's not real.

There needs to be talk about suicide. There needs to be talk about mental health. There needs to be talk until this topic becomes so common that someone dealing with suicidal thoughts can walk into a hospital, friends house, counseling center, and more, and confidently and unafraid say, “I need help.” There is nothing wrong with asking for help. It is okay not to be okay.

There needs to be counseling centers in every school for all ages. There needs to be assemblies on suicide and mental health. There needs to be resources in schools that protect the mental health of students and offer help for when it all gets to much. There needs to be speakers coming to school to speak of these topics. There needs to be flyers, and numbers, and pictures all offering help for those struggling and bringing awareness to suicide prevention. The Nation Suicide Prevention Lifeline needs to be recited as easily as the ABC’s so we can offer it when someone needs it. There needs to be clubs in schools and mandatory psychology classes for every age. Suicide needs to be spoken about no matter what age you are. Every person needs to have knowledge of this. Many times younger people are protected from this because it may be scary and not good for them to hear but do you know how many young people feel suicidal but don't want to voice it because they aren't supposed to know about it? They don’t get the help they deserve and they end their lives. The ages of suicide are becoming younger and younger and it needs to stop.

People need to be comfortable asking for help and voicing they feel suicidal. So many times people panic and call 911 and put someone in a hospital. Many times this IS the safest option because they are around trained professionals who can protect them in ways others cant. But the way of going about it, isn't always the best. The parts leading up need to change. Sometimes they don’t need the hospital, they need someone to talk to. A hug. A sleepover. Someone to come to the hospital with them maybe. They need calmness and reassurance, love and care. Sometimes they need to speak to a counselor, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, go to a crisis center, go to the ER, go to a psychiatric hospital. Any of these options will hep but sometimes they don’t need extremes. Panicking does not help them. Sometimes staying calm and being there for them and asking then what they need and want is the best thing for them. So many people are afraid to voice it because they are afraid they will be sent to a hospital or looked at differently or scare and disappoint those they love. But they should NOT feel this. Although going to a crisis center or hospital is a very scary thing, it is always a safe and helpful option. They are there to help and protect and provide recovery. Everyone needs to listen to that person because it is about them and we need to do everything we can to help in ways that they want. Of course in extreme cases the hospital is the best answer, and it may be needed more often, but first approaching a situation, it needs to be changed. It needs to be calm and loving. Not overbearing and scary. It needs to be comfortable and nurturing. Anyone struggling with these thoughts needs to be comfortable asking for help and saying they are feeling suicidal and want and need help. No one should be scared. No one should be looked at differently. No one should hold in their emotions and suffer.

The stigma of suicide and mental illness is so high and it needs to be shattered. These topics should become everyday conversations. It should be made just as important as anything else life throws at us. The world needs to know just how crucial this topic is and how important it is to talk about. The world needs more angels, heaven has enough. We need our living, breathing, beautiful souls here with us. We need people to hold on. To breathe. To take a step towards help. To Live. The world needs life because when life is taken, the world darkens a little but because a light went out. The world needs its lights.

NO ONE is alone. You are NEVER alone. I am here. Your family is here. Your friends are here. Resources are all around you. Do not ever be afraid to reach out to anyone. Even to myself, although I may not know you, come to me. I know how you feel and I want to try to help. I understand. I will listen. I WILL LISTEN. I am here for you. So many people DO care. DO not EVER be afraid to reach to out, please. You are loved, oh you are so so loved. Don’t let your shining spark go out. You are a light in a world of so much darkness. Remember no matter how dark your life may feel, you shine so bright and are the strongest flame. Do not let your flame go out.

I cannot stress the importance of this. I know I may not be able to do much, and I cannot make to much of a change, and absolutely NO words in this world can express just how passionate I am about this, but I hope that I help someone. Just one person. Because to me, helping one, well thats changing the world.

Chose to keep scoring.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255.