thoughts on "pensamientos" thread
Yesterday we responded to Alvite after he wrote generally about "ending things'.We have no idea what is going through his mind because of his particular writing style, but it was an allusion to suicide.
Please take all comments like these seriously. Sometimes people do not know how to ask for help when they get in a dark state.
Yesterday after posting to the thread in support to Alvite I went to a routine staff meeting.There was a psychiatrist that worked in our clinic on a temporary basis.It is a busy place so I rarely spoke with him and only in passing. I thought he seemed eccentric,but so many of us in mental health are.The nurses had more contact with him and thought he might be living in his car. I don't think they ever asked him how he was doing.
At the meeting it was announced that he had shot himself the night before.I never asked him how he was doing. Now I wish I had.I never knew he was having major problems but maybe others did and did not show concern.
Just some thoughts about how we go through our days.
2 Answers
Marianne and Nizhoni are so correct. So much of the time, we go through our days thinking in a very narrowly focused way. We pass up so many opportunities to help someone, whether in a great or small way.
Granted, there are things which occupy our minds that may well need our attention. But what about the times when we're just wondering what to pick up at the grocery store, and because of this, we don't see someone who is hurting. Someone whom we could have helped with something as small as a kind word or a smile.
I have a personal experience with suicide, and I agree that any comments or "hints" about suicide should be taken very seriously.
Many times family and friends don't have a clue as to how deeply depressed a person is, and sometimes it's too late when they find out.
