suicide, death, depression
Yesterday I heard the news that Jay Faulkner had passed away. I've sort of been in shock about it.
I followed him on Twitter for years, but only met him once. He seemed lovely. I think we had an awkward interaction about a year ago and we hadn't talked in a while.
2 days ago he posted a GoFundMe and I donated and messaged support. Yesterday I heard he died; today I heard he took his life.
500 characters are not enough for my thoughts on this.
suicide, death, depression
It's a difficult time of year. I'm feeling it. Finding the energy to deal with work and life stress has been getting me down. And yet this year is so much better than last year. And I have been in worse places before.
I hate the way that the stigma healthy people apply to suicidal thoughts make it difficult to talk about in the ways we need to in order to heal.
I'm not saying this to request comfort, I'm saying it because I *understand*.
suicide, death, depression
Life can be very hard, and it's not guarranteed to get better. But circumstances can make things seem much worse than they really are.
Time, perspective, even just more light in the day and warmer temperatures - these things can change so much more than we think in the darkest times.
You're not as much of a bother to your friends as you think you are. Reach out to them if you need to talk. A job is just a job. You can find joy in new things.
suicide, death, depression
It can be devastating when a person leaves your life, but there are so many people in this world. The strongest friendships can seem to come out of nowhere.
If the present is intolerable, it's OK to escape into games and books and TV and just wait change out.
When you sleep, you clean stress chemicals from your brain and your whole perspective can change.
Give yourself the gift of time. The future has so much you can't know until you get there.
suicide, death, depression
There are so many ways to reach for help - you can call, email, text, and even live chat these days. Mind has a great list of resources: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/crisis-services/helplines-listening-services/
18 years ago, I remember being suicidal and yet unsure if things were bad enough for me to reach out for help. This is such a common lie that the brain tells. That you could want out entirely and yet think the services that are there to support that aren't for you.
suicide, death, depression
I went to see a doctor and an open door counselling service almost on a whim. With the attitude of 'might as well give it a go first'.
Can't say it was all good since then, but the drugs really did help, and even the inadequate counselling I received got me through the worst times to find out what happened next.
Your brain can marinate in its own stress chemicals. That's when it lies. It's OK to lean on someone else until it can clean itself out. /end.
suicide, death, depression
@Rhube “Inadequate counselling” – When I was leaning heavily on therapy I discovered that it is *really* necessary to shop around. The people I talked to were all lovely, but only the last one clicked with my perspective. It also helped to realize that they are a facilitator, you still need to participate and find your own revelations.
