How to Save a Life pt. I
Have you ever been affected by suicide?
It’s a difficult thing to talk about, but most of us have been affected by the suicide of a friend, family member, or someone else in your community. Suicide is something that has been talked about more and more, and for good reason. Suicide takes the life of one person every twelve minutes in the United States alone. That amounts to around 38,000 deaths by suicide each year.
Think about those numbers for a minute. If you read through each of the (short) articles in this series, it will take you around twelve minutes. It’s an intimidating number and an intimidating subject. It should be. Even now, I would imagine that you are thinking of other posts you could read, lighter topics to explore.
Stick with me.
Yes, we are going to talk about suicide. No, we are not going to just talk. You are going to learn about what you can do. If you feel in any way uncomfortable with this topic, read these posts through to the end.
Helping people who are struggling with depression, suicide, or self-harm is an immensely powerful ability. It is a tool you will never regret having. Quite literally, it can save someone’s life. Who knows, maybe it can save yours.
A bit of a preview
As Christians, we are called to follow Jesus. We are directed to emulate Him and to live as He did.
It is our duty, then, to seek out those struggling with any variety of struggle, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). It’s time for us to think of how we can get out and find the lost, the ones struggling with their own survival and worth. Through Jesus, let us try to help them, to save them.
But where do you start? How do you help people if they don’t come out and tell you about it?
People tend to wait until someone comes to them, until they walk right up and tell them that they are having a hard time. But this rarely happens. Only about one half of people who are experiencing a major episode of depression receive treatment.
But there is hope!
About 80-90% of those who actually seek and get help receive successful mediation. They are able to go into their daily lives and survive.
If you’re having a hard time understanding how people could view living as just surviving, that’s okay. Many of you might not know what it is like to live through depression or suicidal thoughts. Many might feel that you have to get it in order to help those who have it. But this isn’t like you are doing surgery.
You don’t have to understand in order to help.
The goal of all this is not to be a person’s therapist but to help them through their low point and get them to the help that they need.
So where do you start?
It’s simple. The first thing to do is to have a conversation. So let’s get started and see what that looks like.
Check out these links for more information: