Suicide Prevention Awareness

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. In 2018 suicide was the second leading cause of death in ages 10-24. Each day the United States alone there are over 3,000 suicide attempts. If you need help people are here for you. You can reach out and talk to a school counselor, trusted adult, trusted friend, and even a hotline. I caught up with our newest counselor at Saint Joe and asked her about her thoughts on suicide.

Here is what Mrs. Enck said : Reach out to your friends and loved ones often to check in with them. If someone says, “I’m fine”, it could be masking a whole jar of emotions and thoughts that they are constantly sealing up with a lid. Tell them that they are not a burden and that you want to listen. Sometimes just being an active listener for someone can make the biggest impact.

It’s okay to have thoughts about suicide while they make feel overwhelming and incredibly painful, thoughts about suicide are just thoughts. You don’t have to act on them. Our emotions constantly change. How you feel today may not be the same as how you feel tomorrow, next week, or next month. Your pain wont disappear overnight. It can take some time to feel better, but know things can and will get better.