Reality
It's always so sad when you hear of someone's death and then you hear that it's suicide...
If you have been reading my blog you probably know that depression and suicide are very important topics to me. So many people struggle with depression and/or suicidal thoughts and inclinations. Depression is something that so many people never find a way out of. It's a scary thing because you never know what the breaking point is going to be. You never know when you're going to give in to the thoughts and give up. Sometimes depression is so debilitating that you think giving up is the only answer, but it's not. There is hope. Hope is real.
Robin Williams no longer saw the hope. It's an awful and horribly sad thing. It does however teach us a valuable lesson. No matter who you are, what you've done and where you're at in your life depression can affect anyone. Depression is not prejudice and it's not something that there's an easy answer to. Everyone deals with it differently. Unfortunately, people can be great pretenders... happy on the outside and dying on the inside. Some people deal with depression and never tell a single soul about it. Don't let this be your story. Don't feel like you have to sit in silence. Don't bottle everything up until it's too much and you need to explode. It can be an intimidating thing to open up about it and maybe there's no one in your life you want to talk to about it. Call the suicide hotline at 1-800-SUICIDE.
If you know someone struggling with depression... take the time to listen to them. Sometimes all a person needs is someone to listen. Not to give advice or criticize, but to listen. If you know someone who is suicidal or you are having suicidal thoughts... call 911 or the suicide hotline at 1-800-SUICIDE.
A great resource of encouragement is To Write Love on Her Arms. It's an organization that strives to help people in need who are dealing with these issues. Here is their latest blog post: Still Some Time. It is beautifully written and a great message to anyone feeling depressed or suicidal. This organization is an excellent source for anyone wanting to find ways to help or who needs some kind of encouragement.
This is the TWLOHA vision statement from their website:
If you have been reading my blog you probably know that depression and suicide are very important topics to me. So many people struggle with depression and/or suicidal thoughts and inclinations. Depression is something that so many people never find a way out of. It's a scary thing because you never know what the breaking point is going to be. You never know when you're going to give in to the thoughts and give up. Sometimes depression is so debilitating that you think giving up is the only answer, but it's not. There is hope. Hope is real.
Robin Williams no longer saw the hope. It's an awful and horribly sad thing. It does however teach us a valuable lesson. No matter who you are, what you've done and where you're at in your life depression can affect anyone. Depression is not prejudice and it's not something that there's an easy answer to. Everyone deals with it differently. Unfortunately, people can be great pretenders... happy on the outside and dying on the inside. Some people deal with depression and never tell a single soul about it. Don't let this be your story. Don't feel like you have to sit in silence. Don't bottle everything up until it's too much and you need to explode. It can be an intimidating thing to open up about it and maybe there's no one in your life you want to talk to about it. Call the suicide hotline at 1-800-SUICIDE.
If you know someone struggling with depression... take the time to listen to them. Sometimes all a person needs is someone to listen. Not to give advice or criticize, but to listen. If you know someone who is suicidal or you are having suicidal thoughts... call 911 or the suicide hotline at 1-800-SUICIDE.
A great resource of encouragement is To Write Love on Her Arms. It's an organization that strives to help people in need who are dealing with these issues. Here is their latest blog post: Still Some Time. It is beautifully written and a great message to anyone feeling depressed or suicidal. This organization is an excellent source for anyone wanting to find ways to help or who needs some kind of encouragement.
This is the TWLOHA vision statement from their website:
The vision is that we actually believe these things:
You were created to love and be loved.
You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known.
You need to know your story is important, and you're part of a bigger story.
You need to know your life matters.
We live in a difficult world, a broken world. We believe everyone can relate to pain, all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments. You need to know you're not alone in the places you feel stuck.
We all wake to the human condition. We wake to mystery and beauty, but also to tragedy and loss. Millions of people live with problems of pain. Millions of homes are filled with questions—moments, and seasons, and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay. We know pain is very real. It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real and help is real.
You need to know rescue is possible, freedom is possible, God is still in the business of redemption. We're seeing it happen. People sitting across from a counselor for the first time. People stepping into treatment. In desperate moments, people calling a suicide hotline. We know the first step toward recovery is the hardest to take. We want to say here that it's worth it, your life is worth fighting for, it's possible to change.
You were created to love and be loved.
You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known.
You need to know your story is important, and you're part of a bigger story.
You need to know your life matters.
We live in a difficult world, a broken world. We believe everyone can relate to pain, all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments. You need to know you're not alone in the places you feel stuck.
We all wake to the human condition. We wake to mystery and beauty, but also to tragedy and loss. Millions of people live with problems of pain. Millions of homes are filled with questions—moments, and seasons, and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay. We know pain is very real. It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real and help is real.
You need to know rescue is possible, freedom is possible, God is still in the business of redemption. We're seeing it happen. People sitting across from a counselor for the first time. People stepping into treatment. In desperate moments, people calling a suicide hotline. We know the first step toward recovery is the hardest to take. We want to say here that it's worth it, your life is worth fighting for, it's possible to change.
We're seeing
lives change as
people get the
help they need.
Beyond treatment, we believe community is essential. People need other people. We were never meant to do life alone.
The vision is that community, hope, and help would replace secrets and silence.
The vision is people putting down guns, and blades, and bottles.
The vision is that we can reduce the suicide rate in America and around the world.
The vision is that we would learn what it means to love our friends, and we would love ourselves enough to get the help we need.
The vision is better endings. The vision is the restoration of broken families and broken relationships. The vision is people finding life, finding freedom, finding love. The vision is graduation, a Super Bowl, a wedding, a child, a sunrise. The vision is people becoming incredible parents, breaking cycles, making changes.
The vision is the possibility that your best days are ahead.
The vision is the possibility that we're more loved than we'll ever know.
The vision is hope, and hope is real.
You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story.
—Jamie Tworkowski
TWLOHA Founder
Never forget that you are loved... You may not see it and you may not feel it, but you are loved beyond measure. It may not make sense to you now and you may not want to understand, but there is someone who can love you more than any human being on this planet. There is someone we can lean on when things are darkest. God loves you and we can find hope in Him.The vision is that community, hope, and help would replace secrets and silence.
The vision is people putting down guns, and blades, and bottles.
The vision is that we can reduce the suicide rate in America and around the world.
The vision is that we would learn what it means to love our friends, and we would love ourselves enough to get the help we need.
The vision is better endings. The vision is the restoration of broken families and broken relationships. The vision is people finding life, finding freedom, finding love. The vision is graduation, a Super Bowl, a wedding, a child, a sunrise. The vision is people becoming incredible parents, breaking cycles, making changes.
The vision is the possibility that your best days are ahead.
The vision is the possibility that we're more loved than we'll ever know.
The vision is hope, and hope is real.
You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story.
—Jamie Tworkowski
TWLOHA Founder
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