World Suicide Prevention Day: what you can do to show support.
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day, and I’ve been asked several times about whether there’s anything you can do to mark the day.
If you have social media, such as Facebook and Twitter please get involved using the hashtag#WSPD or you can use the alternative #WSPD15 – people are using both 🙂 The theme of today (worldwide) is ‘Preventing Suicide: Reaching Out and Saving Lives’. It seems some people will be wearing orange, some people will be lighting candles at 8pm and the underlying theme is to check in on someone that you care about – if you yourself are struggling then I reckon its the perfect day to plan some time where you can practice self-care, do something that lets you relax and is enjoyable.
Also, if you wish to get a little more active then I did a websearch and found this:
‘World Suicide Day –…
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Ella Robson 
I have a friend who made an attempt on her own life within this past month. She has a history of depression & substance abuse, her marriage isn’t going well and, well, she came to a point where she had enough of it all. As they say, she tried to get into rock ‘n roll heaven, but she wasn’t on the guest list. So she’s still with us. In the weeks since her attempt, she’s called and texted me multiple times a day. I know I shouldn’t say this, but she’s making somewhat of a pest of herself. She calls to say she went through her husband’s phone and found a picture of a half naked woman, a picture that woman supposedly texted him, and asks me if she should divorce him. What am I gonna say…they’re not happy together and she thinks he’s seeing other women, divorce is a realistic option. A day later I get 14 texts and a call about how she went and saw a divorce lawyer. I’m happy she’s taking positive steps to get out of what seems to be a bad marriage. I gues what I’m doing for #WSPD is I’m listening to her patiently and supporting her as much as I possibly can.
Hi Cara,
Thanks for sharing – it’s wonderful that you are supporting your friend even though she is going through a very tough time – I have no doubt that it affects you too, not only as you are seeing your friend struggle but, it can at times be emotionally draining because you don’t know what else you can do.
Simply listening is such a lovely and supportive thing to do and I praise you for that! 🙂 Maybe if you feel that she was making something of a ‘pest’ of herself you could now tell her how proud of her you are that she is making positive steps toward changing this? Because it seems that you are happy for her – and I reckon she’d be grateful if you told her that!
I think you’re not only supporting her on #WSPD you are doing it daily – which is an incredible thing. Though she may not say it, and though it may not seem obvious, and yes at times it may get a little overbearing but essentially what you are doing is helping someone to hold on to life – and you are helping her to find her feet again, which is truly incredible 🙂
Oh I would NEVER tell her she’s a pest. I’m proud of her and happy for her. But when the phone rings at 6 am and I still have pillow creases on my face, and it’s her…maybe I’m being selfish, maybe I need to be more committed to supporting her.
You need to take care of yourself as well – do remember that 🙂 I’m not a professional so of course my advice may not be the best – but I’d recommend seeing if there’s any other support options or other friends that could help support her – just to allow you some space 🙂 Remember you are of course allowed your own boundaries – and I’m sure she’d be very understanding of that 🙂