World Suicide Prevention Day - Misconceptions about suicide and why people might not reach out

There are a lot of misconceptions and stigma around suicide which is a pretty taboo topic in itself, and all these contribute a lot to making it hard for people to reach out and talk openly about their struggles. Yet, talking about it and having the opportunity to reach out, to get help, could be a life-changer, literally. Today for World Suicide Prevention Day Id like to go over some common misconceptions to break them down. Id like to go over the reasons why it can be so hard to reach out so we can work on removing them.

But before anything, this can be a triggering topic so please be safe. If at any point the topic starts feeling triggering, please get appropriate support. <3

Myth: People who talk about suicide only do it for attention, theyll never act on it. / People often commit suicide out of the blue.

Fact: According to research, 80% of people affected by suicide have done or said something as a warning sign to tell their intentions. While not everyone might act on their threats, they always need to be taken seriously as they may indicate serious suicidal thoughts.

Myth: People who attempt suicide always have a mental health condition.

Fact: There are a lot of situations unrelated to mental health issues that can lead to suicide attempts. Not dealing with a mental health condition doesnt mean a person wont ever deal with suicidal thoughts. This is why awareness matters so much.

Myth: People who want to commit suicide will find a way no matter what you do.

Fact: People are often torn, what they want is for the pain to stop, for their situation to be solved, for their struggles to stop.

Myth: Talking about suicide will encourage it.

Fact: Talking about it is actually a way to reduce the stigma, to allow the persons to reach out and seek help, it may help them feel less overwhelmed, less pressured, it may help them rethink the situation theyre in and it may bring them help from loved ones.

All of these stigma add up and make it hard for people to reach out when theyre struggling with suicidal thoughts, because they might:

● feel ashamed of their struggles

● be scared theyll be hospitalized right away

● not have a safe space to talk openly about their struggles

● be worried about being accused of attention-seeking

● not want to burden others or worry them

● have the image of a strong person which doesnt match with their current struggles

● be worried to be misunderstood

● not know how to talk about what theyre feeling or going through

● feel unworthy of support

● fear to be dismissed, rejected or given overly simplistic advice

● be worried theyll be judged

Spreading awareness is so very important, to encourage people to reach out but also to provide them with a safe space, where they feel like they can reach out – this is why misconceptions need to be broken down and why the above reasons need to be worked on and removed. We all deserve a safe space, we all deserve to be able to share our struggles no matter how big or small they might be, we all deserve patient, understanding and caring people to listen to us while we do so, we all deserve to have the real possibility to reach out and seek the help that we need and that were worthy of getting. <3

Discussion:

Why do you think there is so much stigma and misconceptions about suicide?

How could we all help raise awareness and provide safe spaces for our loved ones?

Thanks for reading!

~ Waves

If you are actively planning to commit suicide, or find yourself dealing with what is considered as passive suicidal ideation, it is important that you reach out to a crisis line for appropriate support. Here you will find some community sourced crisis lines and resources.

Credits:

@realdepressionproject and save.org