I was working with a small group of sixth grade math students when one asked, “What does “psychotic” mean?” Before I could say anything, the girl’s friend answered, “It means you’re cray cray.” She didn’t say it in a mean way, and the first girl’s feelings were not hurt, but I could tell that she was concerned. I didn’t ask why she wanted to know, and she didn’t volunteer the information. My answer was something like, “If a person is psychotic, it means that he has been diagnosed with a type of mental illness.” I could tell by the look on her face that she was still worried, so I tried to reassure her by saying that people with mental illness can still have successful marriages, careers, etc. This seemed to satisfy her, and we moved onto the subject of math.
I often think of that girl, and I hope she or whomever she was worried about is okay. I know that life is hard enough without chemical imbalances, depression, PTSD, etc., but that people who suffer from these things have an even harder time. I also know that therapy and medication can help.
Two celebrities recently committed suicide, and even though I did not follow them, it still makes me sad. The family of one of them said that the woman was afraid of getting help because she was worried about her reputation. The stigma of mental health issues is apparently still strong in our society despite public service announcements and efforts of celebrities and every-day people. This needs to change. We all need to encourage the people we know to seek help when they need it and to not worry about what others will think.
We also need to remember that despite our best efforts, when loved ones take their own lives, it does no good for those of us left behind to blame ourselves. We will always miss them and wish that we could have made things better for them, but blaming ourselves will not bring them back. Our love for them will continue, and we need to forgive both them and ourselves.
I’m sorry if this month’s blog is a bummer, but I felt the need to write about this subject. The fact is that all lives are worth living. If you or someone you know is battling depression, I encourage you to get professional help. The National Suicide Hotline can be reached at 800-273-8255. God bless us all.