Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. I recently read an article about how some survivors of suicide loss tend to cringe at “prevention” campaigns and I was so happy to know I am not the only one! When people march around saying that suicide is preventable, it can add to the guilt and shame of survivors of suicide loss. If it was preventable, why wasn’t I able to prevent it? I do believe in the importance of reducing stigma of mental health issues and educating people on signs that often present themselves. I do believe that with intervention, SOME suicides are preventable. The crisis hotlines are lifesavers for many, but they are not enough.
Read MoreKindness
Sometimes Life is Hard
in Anxiety, Self-Care, Mental Health, Lessons, Kindness
Some days are harder than others. I’ve run into some friends lately who are like, “How are you? It looks like things are going well based on Instagram/Facebook!” I realize that I do try to focus on the positive especially with what I’m posting on social media, and that’s because I know what we think about expands. I don’t dwell on little negative things these days and have grown a lot in the past 5 years. I find that filling my mind/attention with information on healing and positive things is helpful, especially with a brain that never seems to stop. In general, life is great and I am very happy.
But sometimes, life is hard. Sometimes it’s hard to focus and I find myself avoiding being present and fall back into old unhealthy patterns. Sometimes anxiety has more control than I’d like and I have a hard time accepting that.
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Goodbye Pops
When we signed up to volunteer to play music for hospice patients, I didn’t realize how lucky we’d be with our first friend and how attached I would get. He died last night and today I am numb. I know the tears are coming. When someone says “hospice” to me, I picture people on their deathbeds who can’t even communicate, but now I know it varies widely.
Read MoreHospice Bingo
in Kindness
The other day when we arrived to play music for our hospice friend, he was in the middle of an intense game of Bingo. He had told us previously that he loved playing Bingo and that he wins often, so I didn’t want to interrupt him. He’s now too weak to put the chips on his own board so he has a friend help but he keeps a close eye on him to make sure he doesn’t miss any numbers.
Read MoreFirst Christmas in St. Louis (2015)
in Grief, Anxiety, Mental Health, Kindness
In general, I enjoy the holiday season. I went on a group walk last weekend to look at Christmas lights and was the goofy one running ahead and getting giddy over different displays. I'm definitely not a Grinch.
However, this year is the first year that I'm really realizing how hard the holidays can be for people dealing with issues of any kind (grief, loss, illness, broken families, addiction, violence, trauma, other mental health issues, isolation, etc.).
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