When September Ends, Tell Someone You Care.

If you’re living with depression and suicidal tendencies, every month is suicide prevention month. Every day is suicide prevention day, as it is a constant struggle to rewire your brain from hopelessness despair to a hopeful despair. From my own personal experiences, I know the desire to want help and want to change but not knowing where or how to start. After some reflection and conversations with friends, here are some habits to help during the dark times.

  1. “How are you?” Fine. Okay. This is what we usually say, but it’s okay to be honest. Maybe not to the grocery store clerk who is making small talk, but when it comes to people who care about you, your friends and family, then it’s okay say you’re not okay. It’s scary, but it can open up a conversation that might need to happen, no matter how uncomfortable or hard that conversation can be.

  2. Take care of your health. I’ve known people who tried therapy that wasn’t for them, what worked for them was actively taking care of themselves everyday. It started with a balanced sleep schedule, and then eating one meal a day instead of just snacking over the kitchen sink.

  3. One thing at a time. What can make it even harder to get out of a depression is the weight of all the to-do lists on our desks. When everything in the world and your thoughts are telling you to go back to sleep, do a quick load of laundry or a couple of dishes before hitting the pillows. Take five minutes out of your day to vacuum or sweep and feel a little bit of pride knowing that your floor is clean even when your mind isn’t.

  4. Know when you’re not enough. We don’t always want to admit we need help from someone else. It can be hard enough to have conversations about depression and suicidal thoughts with loved ones, yet alone strangers. Just try it, you don’t have to be good at it and it’s going to be uncomfortable but just knowing that there are people out there who are willing to listen can be lethargic.If you’re an active duty military personnel who need help, you can call the Red Cross at 1-877-272-7337, or the Veterans and Military Crisis Lines at 1-800-273-8255, and press 1. If you’re  a civilian, you can text you can text 741741 for free crisis counseling. More resources are:

    1. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for Spanish 1-888-628-9454

    2. National Alliance on Mentally Illness (NAMI) 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)

    3. Your county's Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) is another extremely valuable resource. Call 1-800-362-3002 to obtain your local ADRC's phone number.

    4. Vet2Vet Veteran’s Crisis Hotline 1-877-838-2838 (877) VET-2VET

    5. Veteran's Crisis Line 1-800-273-8255 press #1

    6. Treatment Referral Routing Services (funded by SAMHSA) 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

  5. Listen to yourself. It can be hard to decipher what is you and what is your depression, and once the fog starts to lift you can start to see a little bit of the difference. Try something that you’ve always thought would make you smile or bring back an old hobby that made you happy. Go for those long hikes you love, volunteer to play with puppies (or get paid for it at Rover.com), try to remind yourself of who you used to be or who you want to be.

If you’re dealing with mental health issues, depression or suicidal thoughts due to a disaster, know that you can get help from Red Cross volunteers. If you want more help with how to pick up the pieces after a disaster, see our previous blog.

 

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