Suicide Awareness Day

USC’s MSW Programs Blog Day.
So, here is my thought on the matter: suicidal thoughts and talks should be taken seriously. So many people ignore them because the person is just "looking for attention" or are being "dramatic". You know what? Maybe they are looking for attention and they need to be dramatic for someone to hear them and help them. I know what it is like to hear someone say that they want to kill themselves all the time. I know that it gets old, but you know what? It is probably not just "getting old" to them. Hunter S. Thompson talked about killing himself all the time. Guess what? He did. I bet people around him stopped taking him seriously.

I am not blaming anyone. I am not looking to point the finger at anyone. I just want you to know that I will take you seriously. You are not alone. Loads of people, myself included, have had suicidal thoughts. And no, most of the time they come to nothing. Good. But sometimes they do. And because of that, I think we need to take people more seriously and people need to know where to get help.

The number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1 (800) 273-TALK (8255).

There are online resources. I am a personal fan of Twitter for mental health issues. There are so many groups out there that you can tweet to and someone will respond.

There are other options. There are people who know what you are going through. You are alive and for that I am grateful.