*Warning: Topics discussed in this article may be troubling, traumatic, or uncomfortable for anyone who has ever been experienced depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts or knows someone who has experienced these traits. If you or someone you know has these suicidal tendencies or feelings of extreme depression, anxiety, or any other mental disorder please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

After the recent and tragic deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, many have been interested in learning more about suicide awareness and prevention. Conversations that directly address suicide awareness, prevention, and outreach programs are extremely necessary because they directly address mental health issues that would compel someone to take his or her life.

Instead of revolving conversations around mental health, others suggest that one way to preventing suicide is by "being kind" to people because "you never know what goes on behind closed doors" or "you do not know what someone is going through". While it is obvious that you should always be kind to another human being, it is quite ignorant to assume that suicide would not be as common as it is in our society if people were just nicer to each other. I think the "be kind" approach diminishes the extreme mental depravities which a suicidal person experiences every single day. It diminishes suicide as a dilemma that relies solely on how other people treat each other rather than how suicidal people treat themselves. This approach only fuels the glorification of suicide by suggesting that suicide is the ultimate form of victimization and escape from the awful people of the world.

The focus should not be on other people; rather, the focus of this issue has to be about the people who specifically experience these suicidal thoughts or actions. When you do this, despite their imbalanced mental condition, the person whom is directly affected by suicidal takes responsibility for his or her own actions rather than "blaming" someone else. This was one of the many issues regarding Netflix's "13 Reasons Why". The show suggested that if the teenage girl in the show, Hannah Baker, were not bullied then maybe she would not have taken her own life. This show, like many others that inaccurately portray these serious issues, fail to demonstrate the intense feelings of depression, anxiety, etc. which already afflict the mind of the person. Bullying, cyberbullying, and abuse may contribute to someone's justification for suicide, but it is ignorant to assume those are the only issues that compel someone to take his or her own life.

Furthermore, another focus should be on medical treatment. How can I notice red flags for depression, anxiety, or other mental illnesses more efficiently? If I know someone or am experiencing severe feelings such as the ones mentioned above, how can I receive the proper help and medical attention? Suicide prevention is so much more than being nicer to people-it is about providing the most efficient, advanced, and helpful medical and rehabilitative attention to those who need it most.

We live in 2018 with a generation containing the most technological and medical advancements of mankind. Every single day, doctors and researchers are one step closer to curing cancer and Alzheimer's, and we should equally be one step closer to finding the best way to treat the mentally ill, which includes but is not limited to depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, suicidal thoughts or actions, etc. If we take one step closer, I promise you we will not only be more aware and conscious, but will in the end, be more loving towards our fellow human beings, appreciating their beautiful, individual lives that are worthy of living.