Watching the news this morning, I hear that another person has chosen to end their life.  And it makes me sad.  Sad that they felt that ending their life was the only answer.

I’m heartbroken for those left behind, those who may feel as though this is somehow their fault.

I’m not a counselor.  I’m not a doctor.  I don’t know exact statistics.

What I am is human.  One who cares.   I am someone who has felt deep pain and felt at times as though I was barely hanging on.

There have been times in my life that I wondered if anyone would notice or care if I wasn’t around or, the flip side of that, when my plate was so full with so many responsibilities that I felt that I just couldn’t handle all of it anymore.

Either disappear into the abyss because no one would care or go to the abyss to get away from so much pulling at me.

Please understand…I am talking about myself and my perceptions.  I have no idea the demons that others have and do struggle with…

We watched the movie ‘Her’ last night.  One thing that jumped out at me was how little interaction there was between people.  Everyone was heads down caught up in their own little world.  That digital world where we use filters to make the ‘ugly’ go away.  Where we edit our thoughts and words so that everything comes out ‘just right’.  Look around, how many people are truly interacting.

I just came across an article on Huffington Post that I thought was great…and it talks about how we need to talk to one another about mental health and suicide (here it is). No, it’s not an easy topic.  I truly believe that so often that when conversations about difficult topics happen, it helps us understand that they we are not alone.

There was someone that was in my training class who triggered every last one of my insecurities…just looking at her made me feel incredibly inadequate.  Eventually, she and I had a conversation in which we discovered that we had an awful lot in common.  It made me realize that even when someone looks perfect that we really have no idea what was going on inside.

I was lucky.  When I was in those dark places, I knew that I was not alone.  It’s scary and uncomfortable to talk about the ugly stuff and I was fortunate to know who I could depend on to listen without judgement. For that, I will be eternally grateful.

I challenge you to be that person for someone.

And if you are struggling, know you are not alone.