Suicide SUCKS!
Today’s news of tWitch dying by suicide has been a trigger for me.
I am angry.
I am sad.
I am heartbroken for his wife, children, family, friends and all the lives he has touched with his talents as a DJ, dancer, and singer.
I am overwhelmed with the torturous feelings he had to have felt in his last moments and hours.
I am furious that he, Stephen, a well connected affluent human being felt that the only way out was suicide.
As I read so many of the responses to this news on social media, I am faced with now commonly used catchphrases such as;
- Often, people with the biggest smiles are the saddest
- Check-in with those “uplifters” in your life. They may not be as okay as you think
- You never know what battles someone is fighting
When will we, as a society, get past these token phrases and actually make mental health a priority!? Suicide is a world-wide epidemic. The media may give it a token focus when a celebrity, such as tWitch, or Anthony Bourdain, or AVICII tragically by suicide but this media coverage quickly fades after their memorials and tributes. Thousands of families are affected by the death of a loved one by suicide every year. Every. Single. Year
Why has no government, federal or local, taken a stand and said, “Enough!” and adequately funded mental health? Why is it an acceptable “calculated risk” to let those who struggle with mental illness fall through the cracks of long waitlists for publicly funded supports? Here in Canada, we have universal health care. In recent years, our provincial government (same as State government in the U.S.A.) has decreased funding by millions and millions. This is funding to support mostly physical aspects of our healthcare system. The problem is that the funding for mental health supports has been slashed as well! This is not new information; in fact, it is very old news that we as a society have become immune to hearing.
Mental health and mental illness does not care about our marital status. It does not care about our affluence. It does not care about our social-economical status, nor if we have family and friends who love us. Mental illness is an equal opportunity disease. Yes, I said disease. Mental illness is as much a disease as cancer and diabetes. If it were a physical condition or disease, governmental funding would cover treatment……IF
Today’s news has triggered me.
Almost 6 years ago our oldest daughter, who was 19 at the time, died by suicide. Just 7 short months later (to the day) my only biological brother died by suicide. So, yes, today’s news triggered me. But here’s the problem…….
Almost 6 years later, I still don’t know how I can help solve this problem. Until the pandemic hit in 2020, we were very involved with our local branch of CMHA (Canadian Mental Health Association) during their Ride Don’t Hide campaign every June and Suicide Prevention Awareness campaign in September of each year. I intend on getting back into these events as a volunteer. But there must be more that can be done.
So this is where I need your help…..
What else can I do? What else can we do? Please leave your thoughts in the comments because I can’t let this most recent celebrity suicide only spark a momentary light on this issue. I want to spark an revolution!
2mommiesof3 