You Are Better Than Suicide
- Nash Young
- Aug 14, 2019
- 4 min read
You have a purpose to fulfill in life and were ordained by God to use the talents you were delegated to help others through it all. How selfish is it to think that you are going through so much pain in this very moment that you get to just quit and give up on yourself, your friends, your family etc? The decision that you could potentially make is IRREVERSIBLE, meaning there is no turning back from this decision. Life depends on your contribution. In fact, in 2013 the CDC(Center of Disease Control) shows that suicide accounted for a 50.8 billion dollar economic contribution loss due to suicide. Have you ever heard the phrase, "It's the small things in life that make the big difference"? You as an individual are 1 in 7,700,000,000 people on this planet, but Bill Gates (the creator of Microsoft) made a huge difference in the way we see computers today. Microsoft software is ran on 75% of the total number of desktop computers in the world. One idea and one action turned into a massive difference, allowing users to communicate better, game, watch movies and listen to music more efficiently and faster than ever imagined. Steve Jobs would be another example with Apple, so many people have one(Apple owns 40% of the smartphone market share in U.S. with Samsung at 29%). You as an individual with God's guidance can make a huge difference in the world. Everyone's plan is different but if you follow in the footsteps that God has provided you, your thirst will be quenched(John 4:13-15 talking about accepting Christ as your Savior). Following and trusting God's plan is the ultimate way be fulfilled in this life, that some feel, is too hard bear.
• There are more than 2x the amount of suicides than homicides every year in the U.S.
• For ages 15-24, Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death
• Around 800,000 people worldwide commit suicide every year.
• Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in America
• Suicide takes roughly 45,000 people every year in the U.S.
• Around 50% of people who deal with serious depression seek treatment, and the 80-90% of the ones who do seek treatment overcome their depression in the U.S.
• For every 25 suicide attempts there is 1 successful suicide attempt in the U.S.
• Men make up around 79% of all suicides in the U.S.
• Women tend to contemplate suicide more than their male counter parts and attempt suicide 3x as much.
• Suicide is most prevalent in women ages 45-54(9 per 100,000) and in men age 75+(36 per 100,000)
Don't always trust and go with your feelings. Feelings are "fickle" and are so spontaneous that we CAN'T trust them. Jocko Willink, a former Navy Seal with a bronze and silver star to his name, podcaster and best selling-author says it best: "Be disciplined in all that you do" and he goes on to say that motivation is an emotion and we can't rely on this. Have the discipline to seek help, have the discipline and self responsibility in life to make decisions that will better yourself for now and the future. You are responsible for yourself and should be honored that God accredited you with this responsibility. Mark Henick(advocate for suicide prevention) had a speaking engagement at TEDx Talk back in the 2013 and gave this startling statistic: 90% of people who commit suicide have a treatable mental illness at the time. Many of the red flags that people present could be prevented by have community and I argue this point because of these warning signs:
• Talking about suicide
• Talking about having no reason to live
• Talking about feeling hopeless
• Increased use of alcohol and drugs
• Being isolated and withdrawing from society
• Being more irritable
• Loss of interest in typical activities and more
All of these can be caught by being in community and seeking the help that an individual needs for one's mental health. The fact that the suicide rate has risen 33% from 1999-2017 is mind boggling. We have a crisis and its needs to be solved. I have a solution, His name is Jesus Christ who fulfills, forgives and saves. The Bible talks about community and seeking wise counsel.
Here are a few verses on community: • 1 Thessalonians 5:14 - And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
• Colossians 3:13- Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Here are a few verses on seeking wise counsel: • Proverbs 15:22- Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.
• Ecclesiastes- Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.
There are many factors that influence suicide no doubt, but community and seeking help could prevent the MAJORITY of them! Even if you don't believe is Jesus, I encourage you to do these things and really seek help. Jesus Christ gives me a reason to live everyday, I have personally struggled with slight depression, but the cure for me is prayer and belief in Jesus Christ. He has given me a purpose to fulfill and that is to spread his word and love others. Jesus is unchanging and His love is unconditional. No matter what "bad" acts you have thought of, talked about or actually acted upon, Jesus will meet you there! If you are interested in accepting Jesus into your heart this is how you do it: Romans 9:10- If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Jesus does the rest!
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