I am not naive or arrogant enough to suggest that depression and other horrendously powerful internal battles can be won with a kind word or a well-timed intervention. (And I don't know this boy's particular situation. I have just known and loved his family since before I can remember.)
Still, the high price that suicide exacts makes me want to put this out there: That if things seem impossible, permanent, crushing, that's normal. But it's also temporary. That's why the "It Gets Better" Campaign was started. "It Gets Better" applies to every single thing teenagers go through. If you feel hopeless, please reach out to me or someone like me; Ruby or someone like Ruby. Both of us, and probably dozens of people around you, will take your problems upon ourselves and help you figure out how to be you, but less painfully. There is always someone in your world who loves you desperately, unconditionally, and completely. It might not seem like it. but it's true.
Just please don't leave us.
3 comments:
I'm so very sorry. Such a heartbreaking loss. Mental health can be so complex, challenging, and devastating. Our thoughts are with his family and all of the lives he touched.
Depression is a disgusting monster. This breaks my heart.
When I told my daughter the news, her teary reaction was, "But he was so nice." I appreciated the father's raw candor in his talk at the funeral. He said he used to think the face of suicide was someone dysfunctional, socially backward, a slacker, maybe with substance abuse issues, etc. Instead it can be anyone. His son was thoughtful, polite, accomplished, well-liked, hardworking. For whatever reasons the son's perception of himself was skewed. I was touched when the father labeled the last few days as the worst in his live, but that even so, he feels that life is worth living, and that he wants the audience to please contact someone if ever they feel otherwise. I know the family is scrambling with questions, most notably, "Why?" They may never get that answer. I've learned we don't always need the whys to be able to move forward, although that realization is a journey in and of itself. That will be my prayer for them, and that they will be comforted by the Savior throughout. So, so sad.
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