Reach Out

I came across this video recently and wanted to share it with you...  It's a short video - less than 2 minutes.  Will you do me a favor and watch it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIeBxeOxFyE


Reaching out seems like a simple concept when we are in a good place mentally and emotionally, but it can take extraordinary courage to reach out when we are feeling weak, overwhelmed, hopeless, and needing someone to help us when we are in a dark place.

This is especially true when one is having thoughts of suicide, but it is actually true of any moment when we are feeling lost, lonely, vulnerable and hurting.  Reaching out allows us to share our pain and experiences with someone else and gives them a chance to help us.  Sometimes people will do great at responding to our efforts to seek support and help and, I will be honest, sometimes they won't.  But if you are struggling, I encourage you to reach out until you find someone who IS willing and able to help walk with you through the hard times because this feeling won't last and things will get better with help.

I also want to remind each of you how powerful and valuable you are when you assist someone else who is struggling.  The greatest thing that you can do is to help connect them to someone else who is trained to support and help them to make sure that they are able to stay safe.  Keeping thoughts of suicide a secret is NOT help!  You want to help those you love and care about - friends or family members - and you can be incredibly helpful to them.  Listening and caring are wonderful gifts that you can give to them - as is connecting them to more support.  And once you have connected them to additional help from a trusted adult, it doesn't mean your job is over - your family member or friend still needs you - they still need you to be their encourager and listener or to be your normal self who will make them smile when everything else seems stressful.

If you are struggling, I hope you will reach out to me.  Stop by and see me so we can talk about what is going on.  If you are struggling at other times you can always reach out to the other adults in your life or to a hotline such as the National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-273-8255 or the Crisis Text Line by texting 4Hope (or any other message) to 741741.