Pay attention to your loved one- SUICIDE might be closer than you think!

Suicide prevention line

I personally have been impacted by this in my own family.  My daughter became deeply depressed in the summer of 2018.  She was just turned 26, a bubbly young adult with a heart of gold.  She loved dancing, animals, had a joyous adventurous vibe wanting to experience the world as she saw it.  She had loved the arts and New York.  She had a love of writing poetry and reading.

She seemed to deteriorate and change in her behaviors, which started with her mood swings, and her patterns and actions.  She seemed very snippy and started to lose interest in her favorite things.  I even seen a mean side to her. Now, I had experience dealing with mental health professionals with her diagnoses, but this was different.  I tried to address the concerns I was noticing, but it was worse.  She even began rejecting my grandson, her nephew who she loved dearly since his birth in December 2017.  She lost concern and started tearing up her poetry, throwing out her books she treasured, and videos and keepsakes she cherished.  She was refusing a lot.  I did my own outreach attempt, which helped but barely, and ended up going to her medication appointment.

It was a blessing that she was receptive to the new psychologist who was kind, and very thorough as she usually doesn’t like opening up.  That was a blessing.  He recommended some things like a day program but she rejected that and at that time, she didn’t get hospitalized but was being watched by me, etc.

She had to work through finding out what the issues were and come to find out, one of her medicines she had been on can create these issues later on. That was one problem.  She later agreed to talking to a therapist and made strides there and stopped again in 2019 after making progress.

That was the scariest time for me.  I had tools, but it almost wasn’t enough how bad it was.  So just wanted to share in case anyone may need and to call the prevention line, and take your friend/loved one to crisis in your area if possible.  Save a life! It can happen to the best of us, unexpectedly, or by other means that may have ignited it.

This song is an example of how my daughter felt.  Please pay attention and do all you can.  My daughter actually heard me playing this as I posted this and said that is exactly a song from that time and how she felt.  She clearly remembers and said, “You remember mom.”  Sobering.

“More Americans teens and young adults appear to be struggling with mental health issues.”  (CBSNEWS)

Retrieved from CBSNEWS:  Health experts also recommend that everyone also familiarize themselves with the warning signs of suicide, which may include:

  • A person thinking about or threatening suicide or seeking a way to kill themselves
  • Increased substance abuse
  • Feelings of purposelessness, anxiety, being trapped, or hopeless
  • Social isolation and withdrawing from people and activities
  • Expressing unusual anger, recklessness, or mood change

“If you believe a loved is at risk of suicide, do not leave him or her alone. Try to get the person to seek help from a doctor or the nearest hospital emergency department or dial 911. It’s important to remove access to firearms, medications, or any other potential tools they might use to harm themselves.” (CBSNEWS)

“For immediate help if you are in a crisis, call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All calls are confidential.”  (CBSNEWS)

Find your local crisis invention number and keep it available.  Pay attention to all of the signs.

References:

CBSNEWS.  Welch, Ashley.  “Depression, anxiety, suicide increase in teens and young adults, study finds.”  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/suicide-depression-anxiety-mental-health-issues-increase-teens-young-adults/.

YouTube. Vevo.  Logic.  “1-800-273-8255 ft. Alessia Cara, Khalid”  Aug. 17, 2017.  Accessed April 18, 2020.

1 comment

  1. Rebecca Mary Esther Zimmerman

    Hi, thank you for sharing this personal and “close to home” blog. I have struggled with depression and anxiety in my life . Change used to be something I thrived for, but as I got older, change became less and less appealing. I think what changed for me was when situations happened in my life that I had completely no control over. You live life day to day usually based off a type of routine fulfilling responsibilities and taking care of yourself or if you have a family, than you also take care of them. When a situation happens that you do not expect or have no control over, something changes in you. Adaption is one of those things you hope you can do, but depending on the situation at hand, adapting might not be so easy. I feel as I go older, I looked at my life and sometimes would get upset that I wasn’t at the point where I thought Id be. Then I’ll look around at my family and know I’m exactly where I am supposed to be. There s a self reflection that I believe happens with people from time to time life. Some people can really “beat themselves up” over not reaching goals, or making mistakes, or not adapting to a change they thought they are ready for. My best advice to myself and others, is there’s only one YOU and God has a purpose in store for everyone. There are going to be times when mistakes happen and you have to start over. Then there are times when you reach goals or see how you have impacted someone else. Being a mom and a wife have made me feel appreciated and loved. I think your environment controls how much you grow and flourish. That was something I needed to come to terms with as well. I put myself in a bad environment for a few years and had trouble getting out. Once I did I felt like the sun, shinned brighter than it ever did. I do believe we are put into life challenges to make us stronger. A good environment and strong family/friend support helps us succeed through life’s tribulations.
    There’s a book called Atomic Habits, which might be a good read for you and your daughter. We as human beings try to motivate ourselves again and again, but personal characteristics tend to get overpowered by your environment. The author puts focus on many aspects such as making good decisions for you, getting in a flow, subtracting the negative influences, and remembering the environment drives our good behaviors as well as bad ones (James Clear, Atomic Habits). Might be worth checking out!

    https://jamesclear.com/power-of-environment

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