Suicide Prevention Month Almost Over – Statistics Still Staggering

I'm about to give you some statistics that should scare you down to the core. Suicide Awareness Month is each September and with days to go, it's hard to know if a difference has been made. Suicide is a dirty topic that NOBODY wants to discuss. I use the word dirty because it puts that bitter face on people when it comes up.

Let me just drop this statistic on you real quick.

Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for Idahoans age 15-34 and for males 10-14. That should keep you up at night if you have any children in your life. Kids don't wake up thinking, "I'm going to take my life today!" Look at the world that they're waking up to today. Let's drop the quick headlines.

1. What Mexico's Earthquake Means for California.
2. Maria regains strength as it ravages the Caribbean. Could Florida be hit again?
3. North Korea vows to destroy America.
4. Texas still flooded, what's next?
5. Riots.
6. World Ending soon...Hurricanes, Earthquakes.

Parents work more today because we CAN on our phones. I watch people at dinner and they rarely speak. It's sad how much notification we have and how much communication we lack. We hosted the Mayweather fight this Summer and that's what everyone did. People didn't really talk but spent more time on their phones.

"Check out this video!!!!"

"So, I'm totally sending snaps to that girl!" - friend

"Why don't you just go talk to her???" - me

"Because it's cat and mouse. She can come talk to me." - friend

"That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard." - me

We need to COMMUNICATE better. I'm not saying MORE. I'm saying BETTER. We need to talk to our kids or friends to find out HOW THEY FEEL.

People act a certain way because of something. You can usually pinpoint an event or moment that gave someone a negative feeling. Considering we rarely communicate with each other it's very hard to understand one another.

I think about people who have ended their lives and you always wonder if others missed the signs. I just spoke to a mom who admitted that her child also deals with mental illness. She worries every single day. I know of a high school kid that shocked a community after taking his life last April. I have family members who have taken their lives as well. These are the things that we don't talk about. That's why I called them, "dirty."

Nobody has the remedy for stopping mental illness and none of us are perfect. That doesn't give people who struggle with this gets a right to wrong others. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm speaking to everyone and ask them over this next week to make an effort to ask, "how are you today?"

I have so much respect for Idahoan Aaron Paul that you might know from his award-winning role in, Breaking Bad. You would actually think we've met but that guy is such a star I've let everyone else have that moment. Aaron has sent out some amazing messages to us during our child abuse prevention event, Live For 175. He sent this last year.

A whopping 1.1 million people viewed that unbelievable and incredible message. What did that do? Aaron told over a million boys, girls, moms, dads, and grandparents that it SHOULDN'T HURT TO BE A CHILD. You would be surprised how many people truly believe it's all their faults. Imagine living with that burden your entire life. Aaron's wife does some great work and is the co-founder of, The Kind Campaign.

Lauren Paul calls attention to not just the bullied but gives the ones doing the bullying a platform to apologize. That is a very powerful position to take.

We need to end suicide and it starts with each one of us. You. Me. Her. Him. We can't cure mental illness or stop bullying for good. We can, however, offer hope.  Sometimes all we need is a reason to move on. Let's give them a reason every day to live till the next one. Let's just take it day by day.