Love Your Neighbor AND Yourself and Reduce Suicide Rates

1-800-273-8255 (TALK). Memorize it. Share it. Use it. This is the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Suicide is currently the 10^th leading cause of death in the United States, according to a Medical News Today report by Hannah Nichols in February, 2017. This is an epidemic that must be addressed, and all of us can help.

The recent suicides of fashion designer Kate Spade and of chef, author, and tv personality Anthony Bourdain have received a lot of media coverage. These inspiring icons seemed to “have it all,” and their deaths have raised more questions than answers. The CDC [1] completed a comprehensive study of suicides from 1999-2016 and found that suicide rates have increased in EVERY SINGLE STATE with the exception of Nevada (which already had a relatively high rate) over the 17 year period! 25 states saw suicide rates jump over 30%! Nell Greenfieldboyce summarized the findings for NPR and shared that 54% of those who committed suicide did not have any known mental health issues.

The suicide epidemic is something we can and must tackle together, but HOW?

Live by the Golden Rule and treat people the way we would want to be treated. Be inclusive, caring, and observant. Learn to Love by Actions and Truthfulness.
Connect with others in meaningful ways. Our society has become very self-absorbed. Blame it on smart phones; blame it on consumerism, but the bottom line is that we need to look out for our neighbors, friends, family. We need to stop disappearing into our phones and actually make eye contact and conversation with the people around us. Feeling isolated and alone can lead people to believe that their lives do not matter.
Reach out to friends and family. Strike up a conversation with a cashier or waiter. Buy a meal for a homeless person. Bring homemade goodies to a neighbor. Volunteer. Put positivity out into the world and watch it come back to you. Never forget that we reap what we sow. Just make sure we T.H.I.N.K Before we Speak!
Love our neighbors AND ourselves. This is so important. We are bombarded with images in advertising and social media telling us that if we just bought X, Y, or Z our lives would be better and we would be happier. This is garbage designed to sell products. A friend from college posted this man’s poem on Facebook, and it resonated deeply within me. Please take 5 minutes to watch this and forgive the occasional bad language.

Everyone can take action to strengthen our communities. We all have a place in this world, and we all have a responsibility to take care of our part of it. Small steps can lead to big changes. If you notice someone behaving differently or withdrawing a bit, REACH OUT! Offer a shoulder to cry on and a hand to hold. We all go through difficult times, and we shouldn’t ever feel alone. If you contemplate suicide as an option or know someone who is, please know that we all important and worthy of love and understanding. Memorize and share the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:

1-800-273-8255 (TALK)
En Español: 1-888-628-9454
Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889
The Crisis Text Line by texting 741741

Let’s all work together to make our communities stronger, safer, and healthier! Thank you for taking the time to grow with us. Feel free to read more of our Motivation Articles.

[1] Stone DM, Simon TR, Fowler KA, et al. Vital Signs: Trends in State Suicide Rates — United States, 1999–2016 and Circumstances Contributing to Suicide — 27 States, 2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:617–624. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6722a1.