Two icons were lost this week to suicide, but their contributions to the world will never be forgotten. Kate Spade made the fashionably unattainable attainable and @anthonybourdain’s exploration of culture through food opened our eyes to the world. Both will be sorely missed.
Remember, no matter what you are going through, you don’t have to go through it alone. There are resources available to help you.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need it, Tumblr.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Available 24/7 at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
NAMI (@namiorg): Dedicated to improving the lives of anyone living with mental illness. Free to chat at 1-800-950-6264. Free support 24/7 Text NAMI to 741741
The Trevor Project (@thetrevorproject): Confidential suicide hotline for LGBTQ+ young people. Available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386.
As someone who has suffered from severe depression for a very long time and kept neglecting help until I had an actual breakdown in public, I know how hard it can be.
Sometimes, it feels like there are no other options left, and sometimes, it feels like there’s no hope left, or that the world just doesn’t care. The reality of it is though, someone does care.
Someone always cares.
Sometimes they’re forever and a half away and all you have to connect with them is the internet – just text on the screen of your computer or phone, but never forget they are a person who cares.
Sometimes, they’re a pet who is there for you when you come home, and they only way they can show it are slobbery kisses, whistling noises, or curling up next to you.
Sometimes it’s family, friends, or a teacher, it’s never the same for everyone.
Sometimes, it’s almost impossible for us to realize that there is someone who cares. It feels impossible and we look at ourselves and see nothing of merit or value, or maybe we just feel like a failure… and that’s okay, really. It sucks. It hurts. And it never feels okay to us, but that’s part of being human sometimes. The sucky part, but it shows we’re human, and sometimes when you’re human, all the chemicals don’t line up quite right and we need help.
And there’s no weakness in needing help. I believed for a very, very long time that, if I got help, I was giving up. That I’d become a financial burden and would be judged by those around me… and maybe some people do, but people like that, in the end, aren’t worth the time of day. Let them judge and be ignorant. They’re wrong. No matter how hard it is to believe or remember that, at least know that, speaking from personal experience, I learned they were wrong.
But sometimes I forget, and you might forget too, but that’s okay. We’re human. We live, grow, remember, and forget. Nothing wrong with that; we’re not a computer.
But someone always cares, even if we can’t see it.
Helplines like the above are there for you, the people on the other side, they want to be there for you.
I won’t lie and say reaching out will be easy for everyone. I know it isn’t. Lord do I know it isn’t. But the help is there. When you’re ready for it, and even when you’re not ready for it. Sometimes, they can help you be ready for it, or just lend a listening ear when you need to pour your feelings out to someone who will just listen.
The journey might be long and hard, we’ll stumble and fall, struggle, get to our feet, and fall again. It’s a process. But it does, in time, get better. Sometimes it’s quick, sometimes it’s slow. We don’t all have the same pace.
But it gets better, and no matter how dark it gets, when you’re ready to feel around for it, and even if you’re not, there’s a hand waiting to help you up again.
