Suicide Prevention Ministry

This article is the saddest thing I've read this week. As I read the article and realized that this beautiful young woman had support, friends and professional, she still felt the overwhelming loneliness of depression and ended her life. The second thing that came out about this was that this woman was bullied online. About herself and her depression, which she openly shared. I hope that you read about her to help gain insight into what others like her face when they open up to others. Mental health still has such a stigma that people truly don't understand their struggles and therefore disregard them as insignificant and "fake". Thank you to all who follow us here. Keep up the good work and God bless you this Easter and always.

We are very grateful for the opportunity to share about our work with Gather magazine. Give it a read! We will soon be unveiling a revamp of our website at suicidepreventionministry.org, which will contain many more resources and a model program that faith communities can implement in their own congregations. In the meantime, we are happy to share this program with you via direct message, and we also provide suicide prevention trainings via Zoom (and hopefully live soon enough!). We thank you all for your support as we continue to build up the organization and its mission.

Death by suicide declined by 5.6% in 2020, according to a preliminary CDC report. It still ranks as the tenth leading cause of death.

This is the Mayor of Omaha. Her husband is a well known trauma surgeon and took his own life because of the stresses of COVID. He needed help but refused because of the stigma that surrounds it. It’s ok to not be ok. It doesn't matter who you are, please ask for help. Please reach out and if someone is offering, take it. You are never alone. You matter. Your life matters

There are many reasons to start therapy, you don't have to wait until you're in a crisis. - Image via letstalk.mentalhealth

DEPRESSION TIPS: Shower. Not a bath, a shower. Use water as hot or cold as you like. You don’t even need to wash. Just get in under the water and let it run over you for a while. Sit on the floor if you gotta. Moisturize everything. Use whatever lotion you like. Unscented? Dollar store lotion? Fancy 48 hour lotion that makes you smell like a field of wildflowers? Use whatever you want, and use it all over your entire dermis. ... Put on clean, comfortable clothes. Put on your favorite underwear. Cute black lacy panties? Those ridiculous boxers you bought last christmas with candy cane hearts on the butt? Put them on. Drink cold water. Use ice. If you want, add some mint or lemon for an extra boost. Clean something. Doesn’t have to be anything big. Organize one drawer of a desk. Wash five dirty dishes. Do a load of laundry. Scrub the bathroom sink. Blast music. Listen to something upbeat and dancey and loud, something that’s got lots of energy. Sing to it, dance to it, even if you suck at both. Make food. Don’t just grab a granola bar to munch. Take the time and make food. Even if it’s ramen. Add something special to it, like a soft boiled egg or some veggies. Prepare food, it tastes way better, and you’ll feel like you accomplished something. Make something. Write a short story or a poem, draw a picture, color a picture, fold origami, crochet or knit, sculpt something out of clay, anything artistic. Even if you don’t think you’re good at it. Create. Go outside. Take a walk. Sit in the grass. Look at the clouds. Smell flowers. Put your hands in the dirt and feel the soil against your skin. Call someone. Call a loved one, a friend, a family member, call a chat service if you have no one else to call. Talk to a stranger on the street. Have a conversation and listen to someone’s voice. If you can’t bring yourself to call, text or email or whatever, just have some social interaction with another person. Even if you don’t say much, listen to them. It helps. (You can always call/text/message me!) Cuddle your pets if you have them/can cuddle them. Take pictures of them. Talk to them. Tell them how you feel, about your favorite movie, a new game coming out, anything. May seem small or silly to some, but this list keeps people alive. *** At your absolute best you won’t be good enough for the wrong people. But at your worst, you’ll still be worth it to the right ones. Remember that. Keep holding on. *** In case nobody has told you today I Love you and you are worth your weight and then some in gold, so be kind to yourself and most of all keep pushing on!!!! ***People don’t fake depression.. they fake being ok. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Hours: Available 24 hours. Languages: English, Spanish. 800-273-8255

Though we may not all agree on the theology presented here, practically, the things we say out of our own discomfort to those who grieve may be doing more harm than good.