Kill, Death, Suicide

This last weekend I took a class on suicide intervention. I spent 16 hours with a group of two dozen people talking about death by choice. Talking about how to talk to people who are unusually depressed, talking about death or going through huge life changes that might throw them into those feelings. I learned about ways to overcome the taboo/stigma of suicide. And, I had to do the hardest thing of all.......I had to learn to ask THE QUESTION. The question is not: are you thinking of hurting yourself? It is not: Are you ok? The question is: Are you thinking about killing yourself? or Are you thinking about suicide?
Let me tell you, this was WAY out of my comfort zone. We role played and I dislike that anyway. So, I had to get up in front of other people and act out a scenario where I had to ask THE QUESTION at some point in the conversation. It was hard. But you know, this weekend changed me. Somehow talking about death and the feeling that death could be an option for someone and exploring the causes and indicators made me feel empowered. Well, first it drained me. It's DIFFICULT. It's painful. It's heartbreaking.
But I draw people who say things like this. And I got some tools for how to deal with it. It was an incredibly useful class. It was engaging and enlightening. Amazing since it was all about suicide.
If you have the time, take the ASIST class. It won't be easy. It won't let you off of the hook easily. But facing those hard questions makes you look at life with just that much more thankfulness. It causes you to see how easy it is to slip into habits that might be life changing. Or life ending. Thought patterns. Neglecting self-care. Settling for an existence rather than a full blown life. Blaming instead of accepting choice. And, it causes you to see how dark depression can become. And to want to be a light in a world full of many dark and scary places.
I learned that it's ok not to always be the one. It's ok to just go so far in helping someone. That was a huge relief to me because the weight of such a burden seemed unbearable.
Learn to say the words, kill, death and suicide. Learn to be direct. LEARN TO ASK THE QUESTION. You could be the one who notices someone and hlep to save their life just by asking.......
blessings,
rhonda