While being home for an eventful spring break, it came to my attention that a sophomore at a local high school took his own life for reasons we will never know.
Suicide is something that happens on many high school and college campuses but is mostly swept under the rug and not talked about. The fact of the matter is, though, that it NEEDS to be talked about. Although this is a difficult conversation to have, it's a very important one. Not only to learn from the loss of a loved one, but to prevent further attacks on other lives.
I know Omaha, Nebraska, is not the only home to this kind of tragedy, but many other places. The reality of the situation is that it happens everywhere, every single day. Statistics show here that each year, 34,598 people die from suicide. This means there is an average of about 94 completed suicides each day. With these statistics, I would like to bring about conversation of suicide into many homes and start this hard conversation with friends and family. While writing this, I was surprised to find that many people have mixed emotions and opinions about this topic. I should also specify that I am not referring to any forms of assisted suicide.
After losing a friend's brother in high school to this tragedy, I began to hear many different comments about the deaths of loved ones by suicide whenever the situation happened in my hometown. "I can't believe they would do this. They were so funny and happy all the time" and "they needed help" were two phrases I heard that struck me with surprise. People take their lives when they can't find any hope in the world. Although they put up a happy front, sometimes the problems run deeper than we can even imagine. It's as if there is nothing left for them besides death. With having little siblings entering higher grade levels and meeting so many new people, I can't help but not think about the topic and want to talk about it. I don't think this could ever be understated: We need to talk about suicide. Maybe it doesn't impact us personally now, but it could impact our friends, nieces, nephews, and future sons and daughters.
But not only should this be talked about within our friend groups and families, but also within the school systems. Just like STDs and eating disorders, suicide is a prevalent topic in today's society and it needs to be spoken about more openly. However, many school systems won't even think about this topic entering their halls unless the tragedy happens. The less taboo the subject is, the more likely someone is to reach out for help. That is the underlying goal for all this: For people to stop taking their lives and to seek treatment before it is too late.
Keeping the conversation free flowing both in the home and classroom can help remove the stigma replaced with the conversation of suicide. Many people might look at a certain situation and say "what's the point?" but there is a point and there are people who can help. Being available for loved ones who might be in need is a key factor in breaking the tension of this subject and starting the conversation to talk openly about suicide.
This shouldn't be terrifying to type out, but it is. However, it needs to be done to get the conversation started. Let suicide be an open conversation in your homes and in your schools before another life is taken, helping your family and the rest of the world battle this stigma of mental health.
