I Am The Change

"Should've stayed, were there signs, I ignored?
 Can I help you, not to hurt, anymore?
 We saw brilliance, when the world, was asleep
 There are things that we can have, but can't keep

 If they say, Who cares if one more light goes out?
 In a sky of a million stars
 It flickers, flickers
 Who cares when someone's time runs out?
 If a moment is all we are
 We're quicker, quicker
 Who cares if one more light goes out?
 Well I do"

One More Light - Linkin Park 

 

If you have previously read this blog, you already know I have blogged, recently and in the past,  about the suicide deaths of celebrities. These were celebrities whom I enjoyed their contributions to the world of entertainment whether music, television or movies. Maybe more now because of understanding my battle with Persistent Depressive Disorder, the deaths of Robin Williams, Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington and Anthony Bourdain. really resonated with me. 

Maybe it was the false hope, more so with the first three, that the deaths of such celebrities would help people realize that this is more common than most people like to believe. Well, with Anthony Bourdain, I have noticed a bit more urgency from many, including CNN, to keep the discussion going. Just the other night, CNN conducted a Town Hall on the subject of suicide and it included amazing speakers. 

I do realize that sometimes it takes the unsuspecting suicide death of a celebrity to make people realize that this is a topic that needs an open and honest discussion. But as much as these suicide deaths affected me, I do blog about this more on a personal level............. 

And it has nothing to do with my own personal battles with depression......

 

One year ago today, my cousin, just a few years younger than me, died of suicide. Once again, it was a situation where most people would have never guessed that this person was feeling this way.  And yes, even though I had not seen my cousin in a year or two, I had the natural guilt of what I could have done especially since I was learning so much about through my battle. 

That is when I realized....the best thing I could do, in honor of my cousin and to those who have died of suicide, is bring attention to the subject and the stigma that is associated with mental health issues. I realize that we want to understand why these suicides happened, and it is unfortunate that we will never fully grasp them, but we will be better served to learn from these experiences and maybe prevent someone else from also reaching this point. That doesn't mean we stop thinking of how we might have been able able to help that person or what signs we missed, it means knowing these signs and reaching out to others we know who might be experiencing these sames things. Reaching out to these people and letting them know, it is alright to seek help and talk about it. I truly believe the biggest step to reducing this alarmingly growing trend is to break the stigma of mental illness especially given that 1 in 4 of us will be affected by a mental illness at some point in our lifetime. 

I still want everybody who reads this to go to this site, learn the 5 signs and take the pledge as it can help!

320 Chages Direction

I also hope to have some news soon how I will be continuing to bring attention to this epidemic through my racing of triathlons. 

#stopthestigma #iam1in4 #iamthchange