Tag Archives: If We’re Honest

National Suicide Prevention Month

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With shorter days and longer nights during this time of year, many suffer with Seasonal Adjustment Disorder. I know I find it easier to keep on the sunny side of life when there is indeed sunshine outside my window.

When you toss in the fact life turned topsy-turvy once COVID-19 took center stage, it is no wonder there is more stress, anxiety, worry, and concern in folks’ lives these days. Not to mention all the other news headline grabbing events.

I wonder if September was chosen as National Suicide Prevention Month because more people experienced S.A.D. in the Northern Hemisphere at this time of year.

Since 1974, the United States has dedicated the month of September as National Suicide Prevention Month to bring awareness to this mental health issue. Doing so not only shows those who suffer with this disease it’s okay to admit you’re not okay, but that there is nothing weak in asking for help.

Setting aside a month also provides an opportunity for each of us to realize how important it is to talk about the subject.

Once again, as I prepared posts for September I debated whether to revisit the subject of suicide. And as I did last year, I pretty much decided not to. I first wrote about suicide in a post in 2014, and again in 2017.

The fact I keep feeling nudged to post about the subject of suicide is an indicator to me this subject needs to be brought to people’s attention and discussed. And if by reading this, one person is helped, it is definitely worth it. Especially in these days of so many unknowns when depression rates are at a higher level. This is a longer post than my usual, but I hope you will take the time to read it.

The following is a re-post of last year’s post from September 17, 2019.

Sadly, after minister Jarrid Wilson, the founder of Anthem of Hope committed suicide September 10, 2019 on National Suicide Prevention Day, I decided to write this post. Anthem of Hope’s website states they are an organization devoted to help equip the church with the resources needed to help better assist those struggling with depression, anxiety, self-harm, addiction and suicide, whose core values are: God Loves You, Life Matters, and You Have a Purpose.

I’ve had first-hand experience with friends who committed suicide and friends who tried, but fortunately, did not succeed. I am by no means an expert. So I’ll leave that to the experts.

My hope in writing this post is to raise awareness of this staggering problem which affects so many around each of us.

The following statistics are for 2019.

SAVE Suicide Awareness Violence Education reports:

  • Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US for all ages. (CDC)
  • Every day, approximately 123 Americans die by suicide. (CDC)
  • There is one death by suicide in the US every 12 minutes. (CDC)
  • Suicide takes the lives of over 44,965 Americans every year. (CDC)
  • Depression affects 20-25% of Americans ages 18+ in a given year. (CDC)
  • Only half of all Americans experiencing an episode of major depression receive treatment. (NAMI)
  • An estimated quarter million people each year become suicide survivors (AAS).
  • There is one suicide for every estimated 25 suicide attempts. (CDC)
  • There is one suicide for every estimated 4 suicide attempts in the elderly. (CDC)

Anthem of Hope’s blog reports:

  • Over one million people die by suicide worldwide each year.
  • On average, one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds somewhere in the world.
  • Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for ages 10-24.
  • More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, combined.
  • Four out of Five teens who attempt suicide have given clear warning signs.
  • Each day in our nation, there are an average of over 5,240 attempts by young people grades 7th-12th.

Here are some statistics from several LifeWay Research studies that may help better understand the issue of mental health among people in our churches. (From Anthem of Hope’s blog.)

Christian Mental Health Statistics:

  • 23 percent of pastors acknowledge they have personally struggled with a mental illness.
  • 49 percent of pastors say they rarely or never speak to their congregation about mental illness.
  • 27 percent of churches have a plan to assist families affected by mental illness.
  • 65 percent of churchgoing family members of those with mental illness want their church to talk openly about mental illness.
  • 59 percent of those actually suffering from mental illness say the same.
  • 76 percent of churchgoers say suicide is a problem that needs to be addressed in their community.
  • 32 percent of churchgoers say a close acquaintance or family member has died by suicide.
  • 80 percent of pastors say their church is equipped to assist someone who is threatening to take his or her own life.
  • 4 percent of churchgoers who lost a loved one to suicide say church leaders were aware of their loved one’s struggles.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or visit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Or Anthem of Hope.

Awareness is the beginning. We can all be a part of throwing out a lifeline and help prevent suicide.

Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the subject. If you think others would appreciate reading this, please share it through the social media buttons.

He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. Psalms 40:2 (NLT)

You can find my September Inspire a Fire post here. Please stop by and read it.

I wish you well.

Sandy

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Suicide Awareness Month

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September is suicide prevention month. Did you know that?

In hopes of raising awareness of this staggering problem that affects so many, I’m re-posting this from 2014 .

This morning I listened to a CD I haven’t listened to for some time…James Taylor’s Greatest Hits. The songs brought back tons of memories. Some good. Some not so good.

Hearing “Fire and Rain” took me back to the Valentine’s Day after my 19th birthday when I attended the funeral of a friend while another friend played Taylor’s song on his guitar. I still remember the navy blue dress I wore.

What do you say to the parents of a teen who drove too fast, too drunk, on black ice that was too slick?

Thinking of Vaughn’s funeral reminded me of the beginning of my senior year in high school. A friend told me Karen died in a car accident on the way home from the Homecoming dance. Her boyfriend drove too fast, too drunk, and left Karen decapitated after she flew through the car’s windshield.

My mind wandered further and stopped for a moment on Bruce.

On the way to English the week before high school graduation, I learned my friend drowned in the Potomac River while skipping school. I’d skipped during Senior Week and gone to Great Falls, too. But not with Bruce.

Before leaving these very sad memories, I thought of Greg. Greg called a couple weeks after his 30th birthday to chat. During the conversation he told me something I considered strange. He wanted me to write a story he thought of. At the offer of the story, my Spidey-sense went off and the hair on my arm prickled.

To this day, that story remains in my mind alone, but I should have paid closer attention to what Greg was really saying when he told it to me. He was giving away something that belonged to him. That’s what folks contemplating suicide do, you know.

Still, I didn’t ask the questions I should have asked. I didn’t take the conversation in the direction I should have taken it. Maybe if I had, Greg’s wife wouldn’t have become a young widow two days later when Greg placed a gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

And that, my friends, is the reason for this post.

SAVE Suicide Awareness Violence Education says:

  • Suicide takes the lives of nearly 40,000 Americans every year.
  • Over half of all suicides occur in adult men, ages 25-65.
  • Over half of all suicides are completed with a firearm.
  • For young people 15-24 years old, suicide is the second leading cause of death.
  • Suicide rates among the elderly are highest for those who are divorced or widowed.
  • 1 in 65,000 children ages 10 to 14 die by suicide each year.

Among the information The Center for Disease Control has on their website regarding the signs, risk, and prevention measures for suicide, they state suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. (homicide is 16th).

While Jesus is a friend to all of us and is available all hours everyday to listen and to help, sometimes it’s up to those of us wandering this earth to let people know they’ve got a friend in us as well. Someone with skin on them.

For those of us needing a friend, we need to speak up, reach out, grab hold of those friends.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or visit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Awareness is the beginning. We can all be a part of throwing out a lifeline and help prevent suicide.

Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the subject. If you think others would appreciate reading this, please share it through the social media buttons.

Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it. Proverbs 3:27 (GNT)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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It’s Hard to be Honest Sometimes

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Okay, deviating from my usual, here, but feel compelled to do so.

Ever heard it said, “The church is full of hypocrites.”? I have. Many a time. And you know what, many a time I’ve seen it to be true.

But I’ve also seen it to be false more times than not.

Here are some instances I’ve personally experienced in church that caused me to shake my head and wonder.

  • The father of one of my best friends was a physically abusive alcoholic.
  • The father of another friend died of AIDS some years after his divorce.
  • The husband of a friend sexually abused their toddler.
  • One friend spent time in prison for drug abuse.
  • One friend terminated her teenage pregnancy.
  • One acquaintance often showed up with unexplained bruises and broken bones…that wall she kept running into was her husband
  • One friend had the Bible he received at his baptism stolen from the church pew…once he left his parents’ home, he vowed never to step inside a church again.
  • One friend’s parents divorced after it was discovered her minister-father was addicted to pornography.

There’s more, but that’s more than enough.

Some of the people in the above examples were honest with themselves, God, and those around them. They turned their brokenness into healing through the power of Christ’s love. They made it their mission to educate and serve others from what they experienced and learned of God’s grace.

As I’ve said before, and I’ll say along with the Apostle Paul…I am chief among sinners, saved by the wonderful love, mercy, and grace of God through the forgiveness of my sins, by the power of Jesus’ shed blood on the cross of Calvary.

Yes, there is hypocrisy in the church. Always has been. Always will be. Just look at the Pharisees in the time of Christ to see a perfect example. But that shouldn’t keep us from being involved with a local body of believers who are just as flawed as we are. It should compel us to use our brokenness to bring Light to a world of darkness.

The difference, I believe, is in letting God take our brokenness and using it to help heal others. That takes honesty, and that, my friend, is a very difficult thing to do.

Leave your comments below to share your thoughts on the subject. If you think others would appreciate reading this, please share it through the social media buttons.

How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You are like tombs that are painted white. Outside, those tombs look fine, but inside, they are full of the bones of dead people and all kinds of unclean things. It is the same with you. People look at you and think you are good, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and evil. Matthew 23:27-28 (NCV)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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