Below is an article written by Julie K. Hersh for Psychology Today after participating in a panel discussion following a screening of The S Word presented by The VA North Texas Health Care System.
“What can I do for my friend who is suicidal?”
This may not be the exact question our panel was asked after watching The “S” Word, but pretty darn close. The “S” Word, Directed by Lisa Klein, tracks the lives of numerous people who have attempted suicide, including photographer Dese’Rae Stage, creator of Live through This
I attempted suicide 17 years ago. Watching this film, I felt a strange reunion with people I’d never met. Bits of their stories felt identical to mine.
Many of the people in the film attempted suicide, but lived through it. Like me, they’ve become advocates for mental health, baring souls and dark moments with the hope it might ease the pain of others. In September (national suicide prevention month), we repeat our stories. The same question consistently surfaces: what can I do for someone who is suicidal?
Dr. April Foreman, Vanita Halliburton and me (Julie Hersh) at The “S” Word panel lamented the lack of research about the causes of suicide, but emphasized that from research we clearly know two things that prevent suicide: 1) connectedness to others and 2) lack of means.
Connectedness is whether a person feels attached to someone or something. That connection inspires life. In my book, Struck by Living, I described this attachment as threads of connection.
Sometimes the weirdest things keep people alive. Back in my suicidal summer of 2001, I didn’t want to kill myself when my sister Jean was visiting me in Santa Fe because I knew she loved Santa Fe and I didn’t want to ruin that experience for her. How convoluted was that? I didn’t worry that my death might devastate my sister and my family, but let’s not pollute that impression of Santa Fe! Someone in a suicidal frame of mind is not thinking logically. The mind of a suicidal person develops its own logic, warped, but certain.
Read the full article on Pyschology Today.
