This may be an uncomfortable topic, but I must share because it troubles me so much. A mother in Illinois, obviously troubled emotionally, kills her three small children, boyfriend and herself in Chicago. This is such a tragedy that could have been avoided if someone noticed the signs of distraught and feelings of helplessness before it was too late.
Depression and mental illness are serious issues that really should be in the forefront with media attention, especially during the holidays. You keep seeing family suicides where a parent facing a tough time feeling distraught, seeing the only way out is to kill the entire family. If they could only step away from the situation and give it more time, they would see that they are not alone and that things will get better and they are not alone.
What can we do to prevent more tragic suicides? We can encourage friends and loved ones to open up about the issues troubling them and to seek professional counseling. Sometimes it helps to have friends that you can talk to about a situation. Especially if finances do not allow for professional counseling.
It is never okay to say that they will just get over it and to ignore the situation, because what if the person is having suicidal thoughts and see no way out. Opening up about it and taking it through to someone helps to relieve the pressure and build up of tension inside.
I encourage anyone who is having thoughts of suicide or facing depression to seek out a friend, minister, professional counselor to discuss what is happening in their lives. Don’t keep the emotions bottled up inside, the thoughts only get worse. Seek out someone or persons that you can trust to discuss your situation.
If you know of someone that seems troubled or depressed, please encourage them to talk about it. Let them know that this will pass and that they can get through this situation, that may seem so difficult right now. Don’t just ignore it and wait until you get the call that they committed suicide and killed their children along with them.
Click on the links below to read more on how we can all do something to prevent suicides from becoming a trendy solution:
Woman shot three children, boyfriend then commits suicide – Huffington Post
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – Suicide Prevention Lifeline Organization
Program Innovations – Suicide Prevention Materials
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – AFSP
Suicide Awareness Voices for Education – SAVE
Facebook Launches New Suicide Prevention Tool – News press Now
National Institute of Mental Health – NIMH
CDC – Suicide and Violence Prevention – CDC
Suicide Prevention Resource Center – SPRE
Depression: How Exercise Makes You Feel Good – JSallette.com