Can We Prevent Suicide?

Be a true friend and Be there.

Photo by Josue Escoto on Unsplash

Every year we have a worldwide Suicide Prevention Day. Can we ever prevent suicide? I really don’t know. Statistics prove that someone who attempts suicide repeatedly eventually succeeds. Many who are serious about it don’t give away any clues. I never realized my son Emile was in a place where he was planning his own death. Only after I lost him did I realize some of the things that pointed to it. At the time it didn’t seem significant, I just thought he was growing up and taking responsibility for his life.

Because I also believe we die on the day that was destined for us I don’t know how a day of awareness can stop that from happening. I have worked hard over the years to spread awareness about it. People are still dying by their own hand and the statistics don’t show how many lives were saved because of it. In my opinion, there should be awareness for the survivors of suicide or any death for that matter.

In the event of losing a loved one, you should know the unbearable road of grief you are facing. Suicide is particularly hard because you have all these questions you need answers to. As a parent, you feel responsible for the death of a child by this means. We all feel we could have prevented it from happening. In retrospect, there was nothing we could have done to save them. When someone decides to die they are secretive about it and you will only find evidence of their plans after they have gone.

Ask any parent who lost a child and many will tell you they had no idea this was going to happen. Even the ones whose children suffered from depression of any kind will tell you they never really believed their child would commit suicide. There may be many signs and we can do everything to support them, but in the end, we are helpless to protect them. You also can’t protect them from dying in a car accident, a terminal disease, or being murdered.

We should instead, create awareness of grief in the event of child loss. Parents, partners, and siblings should know the devastation they will face if that unfortunate tragedy befalls them. We should teach them about the utter pain, desolation, agony, and insanity that will reign them for years to come. That deep void your loved one is going to leave in your life. It doesn’t seem possible that it will happen to you but unfortunately, it could. And you will need all the support, love, strength, and encouragement you can find.

Family and friends should be educated on how to support someone in this event. Firstly and most importantly, don’t try to advise them on how to grieve, just be there and listen and give lots of hugs and love. Don’t tell them how many things there are in their lives they can still be grateful for. Don’t say the child is now in a better place! Nothing you can say will make it better for them. Practical help like paying accounts, making a meal, and collecting other children from school, will be welcome.

The knowledge that they have someone to depend on when things become too much to handle will be helpful in itself.

Namaste!