I just finished watching "13 reasons why" a fictional netflix teen drama series on suicide. I thought it was really well done, thought provoking series. It tells a story of one road that can lead to suicide, especially for young adults - a depression spiral. The logic flow was something like: (a) Depression spirals can cause otherwise sane people into depths of destruction where there is no way out (b) that the signs of an impending suicide are hard to read, and (c) people who commit suicide were surrounded by people who could have (and would have) done more (if only they knew). And it could have made a difference because people who commit suicide lack the perception of how much they matter.
If you believe the signs of suicide are hard to read and that even the smallest actions can be the straw that breaks (or saves) the camel's back, then we all owe it to each other to be a list more caring of those around us, and a little softer to each other.
When I look back at my 15-25 years, the largest single events that took me out of my own depression cycle were the "unexpected" actions of my friends that forced me to challenge my perceptions of reality. So it fits with the TEDx video mentioned by Dion. Friends - all of whom had no idea of what I was going through - just going out of there way to do something for our relationship, which basically showed me that I was valued, that I mattered. I remember three events vividly - a friend that set-up an entire NYE night for me and made me come out (thereby counteracting my view that no one cared whether I showed up or not); a friend that dropped everything at 2am to text with me for 4 hours when I was 2000 miles away (counteracting my view that my relationships lacked depth and I was a friend of convenience) ; and a friend who hung-out with me for an entire weekend (counteracting my view that people liked me in groups, but not one-on-one). Just showing someone you care is sometimes all they need...
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