Remember in September Post #4. Prevent Suicide Yesterday. Today May Be Too Late.

World Suicide Prevention Day 2018: Tomorrow Needs You

By Jamie Tworkowski

 

A year ago, we asked you to stay. We talked about Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell. We talked about names lesser known but no less important. Since then, Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade, Aviici, and Scott Hutchison were all lost to suicide. While those four stories shocked the world, the reality is that 800,000 people die by suicide globally each year.

We learned recently that the suicide rate in the United States has risen 25% in the last 20 years. And in the last decade, suicide rates among young people ages 10-17 have increased by more than 70%.

There are so many more statistics we could share as a reminder of the work that remains. These numbers all point to the fact that too many people suffer alone and never get the help they need and deserve.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of suicide is that it steals tomorrow and every additional tomorrow. Suicide takes away the possibility of tomorrows filled with healing, change, love, joy, connection, and community. Those possibilities are worth fighting for, they’re worth every ounce of our attention and energy. And you are worth fighting for. With those things in mind, and with World Suicide Prevention Day coming up on September 10, we’re choosing to focus on tomorrow. We’re choosing to fight for tomorrow. Our message this year is simple: Tomorrow needs you.

Tomorrow needs you to be a good friend.
Tomorrow needs you to hold your little sister’s hand.
Tomorrow needs you to be an uncle, a classmate, a roommate, a cousin.
Tomorrow needs you to laugh. To dance. To build. To dream.

Tomorrow needs you to stay for all the things you love.
Your favorite song still needs you to sing.
You still need to hear your child’s voice.
Your favorite film needs you to watch it once again.
Your favorite meal, favorite city, favorite beach, and favorite book.
Your favorite place to watch the sunset.

Won’t you stay to see the sun rise?

Tomorrow needs you to write that novel, record that podcast, share that poem.
Because no one else has your voice.
Because no one else can play your part.

More than anything, tomorrow needs you to love and be loved.
You don’t have to perform or impress or achieve.
You can if you want but tomorrow needs you just to be yourself.
To love the people you love and to be loved by all the ones who love you.

If you need tomorrow to heal and to recover, it’s okay.
If you need ten tomorrows or a hundred or a whole year, it’s okay.
There’s no rush and you won’t have to go alone.

Today is not the day your story ends.
Today is not the day the darkness wins.
Today needs you to know this world needs you.
Today needs you to know that you can say your pain out loud.
Today needs you to know that it’s okay to ask for help.
Today needs you to know that you can get the help you need.

Because tomorrow needs you.

Peace to You.
jamie

All of the statistics and numbers we share are a sobering reminder of the work that needs to be done. They show just how many people are suffering alone and never receive the help they deserve.

WE HAVE TO CHANGE THAT.

• Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year olds globally.
• The suicide rate in the United States has risen 25% in the last 20 years.
• In the past 10 years, suicide rates among young people ages 10-17 have increased by more than 70%.
• The Centers for Disease Control reports that 121 Americans die by suicide each day, and 93 of those people are men. Research tells us that the suicide rate for girls between 2007 and 2015 has doubled.
• The rate of suicide is four times greater for lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth, and two times greater for questioning youth compared to straight youth.
• 40% of transgender adults have made a suicide attempt, and 92% of those attempts occurred before the age of 25.
• The Surgeon General reports people of color, both adults and children, are less likely than their white counterparts to receive needed mental health care.
• Every day in America alone, 20 veterans die by suicide.

To Write Love on Her Arms is a nonprofit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and invest direct into treatment and recovery.

We believe:

You were created to love and be loved.

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People need other people.

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Your story is important.

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Better days are ahead.

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Hope and help are real.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE, AND THIS IS NOT THE END OF YOUR STORY.

Copyright © 2018 – To Write Love on Her Arms – TWLOHA

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September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

So, I will write and share a post every day during the month of September containing important facts, statistics and educational information about suicide and suicide prevention. The name of my campaign is called…

Remember in September.

Prevent suicide yesterday.

Today, may be too late.

Don’t let there be anymore “what if” or “if I only” yesterday statements.

Make your today never become a yesterday you will regret. 

Save lives. Talk about it. Don’t wait. Get help. Don’t let yesterday become too late.

If you have any stories or information about suicide prevention you would like me to share on my blog, please let me know. I would love to share any information you have. Thank you in advance for your contributions. Together we can do this. It takes a village…

Copyright © 2018 Susan Walz | myloudbipolarwhispers.com | All Rights Reserved