The National Institute of Mental Health states reported that In 2016

• Suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34, and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 54.
• There were more than twice as many suicides (44,965) in the United States as there were homicides (19,362).

Suicide awareness and mental health awareness are so important. Suicide should not be the second leading cause of death. There are so many reasons people commit suicide, and often times we will never really know why they do. Some things others cannot change, like substance abuse or being diagnosed with terminal illnesses. Other suicide causes we can change, like bullying and abuse. The best thing we can do is support those suffering and try to prevent more suicides.

Did I ever try to commit suicide? No. Did I ever self-harm? No. I just slept all the time so I wouldn't have to feel or think anything. Did I wonder what the world would be like without me in it sometimes? Or how if I could just make my overwhelming anxiety and self-hate stop somehow things would be better? Yes. I did.

I never got to the point where I wanted to take my own life but there are far too many people that do. And I honestly can understand why. Sometimes your internal demons are so bad you just want it all to go away and think death will be the answer.

{If you feel like this please know that death or self-harm isn't the answer. You can find help. You are loved. You are valuable. You are worthy. Whatever you're going through someone will listen. You can heal and you can get better. Every day won't be easy, but fight and push through and you can have good days.}

We lose so many people to mental health issues and it needs to be discussed more often. And I don't mean in the condescending "she has no reason to be depressed" way. It's not about what is so wrong with life all the time.

"Because if you kill yourself, you're also going to kill the people who love you."-unknown

I had a great family. I had a great future ahead of me. I was in love. I had amazing friends. I made awesome grades. I had a good car and home. I didn't have financial struggles. I had a Christian support group. My life was great.

Mental illness doesn't care about those things though. Sometimes you can have everything in the world and it still never be enough. Sometimes our brains just don't agree with us. It isn't just something people do for attention.

If someone is threatening to take their life pay attention. It's a cry for help. Sometimes people may not outright say they are having suicidal thoughts, but you notice behavior that isn't healthy. The best thing you can do for someone is reaching out and offering healthy coping mechanisms or even offering to take them to a counselor or hospital.

But at the end of the day, it is their choice to get help or to not get help. But that doesn't mean don't try.

(You can only help someone so much before they help themselves. It is hard to love someone with a mental illness. The guilt and fear you probably feel are hard things to experience. So take care of yourself too. And know that it isn't your responsibility to fix someone else. Children don't know how to cope, so yes advocate for your children. But as an adult, you are responsible for yourself.)

You never know what kind of hope your little act of kindness can give someone who is struggling.

There are so many amazing treatments that can help. There are so many support groups and loving people that want to help. Society is working its way towards a better "mental health" support community. But there's still so much more that needs to be done.

We need more education on the various types of mental health issues and how you can help someone who is struggling. We need to stop making it such a negative thing and start accepting people and supporting people who are struggling. If we could find ways to better support each other instead of constantly tearing each other down and putting so much pressure on each other maybe our world would be a better place.

No child should ever commit suicide because they are bullied so badly. No child should even have access to learn how to commit suicide. Children should be focusing on playing and having fun. Teach your children and brothers and sisters to be kind. Be the change you want to see.

I don't know the answers to fixing the extremely high suicide rates in our country, but what I do know is that it needs to be fixed. Does it start with fixing the overwhelming drug problem? Are rates increases with the increase of social media and cyberbullying? Are suicide rates in men so high because society puts too much pressure on them to be strong and to never fail?

Statistics like these shouldn't be real... "In 2014, an average of 20 Veterans died by suicide each day. Six of the 20 were recent users of VHA services in 2013 or 2014." but the sad truth is that they are. The people that fight for our freedoms need to be cared for. There must be more safe places for people to heal. There needs to be more acceptance and support. We need to heal our people.

At the end of the day it comes down to this, you never know what demons someone is fighting. Be kind. Your one minute of speaking up could be saving someone's life. Be the light in someone's darkness.

"Place your hand over your heart, can you feel it? That is called purpose. You're alive for a reason so don't ever give up." – Unknown

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW ARE STRUGGLING WITH SUICIDAL THOUGHTS AND/OR TENDENCIES, REACH OUT IMMEDIATELY. NO ONE SHOULD GO THROUGH THIS ALONE. SUICIDE IS SERIOUS.

National Suicide Hotline: 1 (800) 273-8255 - available 24/7