{"id":1371,"date":"2014-09-01T01:24:39","date_gmt":"2014-09-01T01:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/areasontosmile\/?p=1371"},"modified":"2014-09-01T01:24:39","modified_gmt":"2014-09-01T01:24:39","slug":"suicide-and-making-sense-of-the-senseless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/areasontosmile\/2014\/09\/suicide-and-making-sense-of-the-senseless.html","title":{"rendered":"Suicide, and making sense of the senseless."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"It's<\/a>
It’s not worth it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBut in the end one needs more courage to live than to kill himself.\u201d
\n\u2015 Albert Camus<\/p>\n

Anyone who\u2019s lost a loved one to suicide knows how uniquely painful and confusing it can be.\u00a0 The death of Robin Williams opened the conversation again about how someone seems to \u2018have it all\u2019 can still choose to take their own lives.<\/p>\n

On a recent episode of Rise UP with B. Dave Walters<\/a> we talked extensively about: Suicide, hitting bottom, and making sense of the senseless. What to do when you hit rock bottom, and how to get back up again; how to face problems without giving up; why people choose to take their own lives, and much, much, more.<\/p>\n

So for us here today, the first thing that has to be addressed is why<\/em> anyone chooses to take their own life.\u00a0 And the answer is simple, but not necessarily easy to accept.\u00a0 People choose to end their lives for one reason, and one reason only:\u00a0 Because they are in so much pain, and as they look ahead into the future they see no hope of things getting better, and probably getting worse.\u00a0 And so faced with that, death seems preferable.<\/p>\n

While I would not label suicide as \u2018selfish\u2019, the truth is it is supremely short sighted <\/em>\u00a0It is a permanent solution to temporary problems.\u00a0 As you look back over your life, think about how many things that seemed like catastrophes at the time, can be laughed about now.\u00a0 Even major, seemingly \u2018incurable\u2019 illnesses may have new treatments or cures right around the corner.\u00a0 Sometimes the hope of a better tomorrow is all we need to keep going; but hope cannot be given, it can only be chosen.<\/p>\n

The most important thing to remember is, if you have someone who\u2019s talked about suicide: Listen to them<\/em>.\u00a0 It really may be they are only talking this way \u2018for attention\u2019, or as a plea for help, but understand that it only takes about 30 seconds to make a very permanent mistake.\u00a0 Many bridge jumpers and other suicide survivors have said they regretted it the moment that they jumped, but more often than not, it\u2019s too late by then.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s not up to you to \u2018save\u2019 them.\u00a0 Yes, you want to remind them of how important they are to you, and how much of a difference they make in your life; but if you are sure they are considering hurting themselves, you\u2019ve GOT to get them professional help. Tell a teacher, priest, or someone you trust that can make a difference. \u00a0\u00a0And don\u2019t be worried about possibly breaching their trust by telling someone; I can tell you from firsthand experience that having them be mad at you, but *alive* is much, much<\/em>, better than the alternative.<\/p>\n

And one final thing:\u00a0 If you are considering ending your life, I would only say this: Please don\u2019t.\u00a0 The simple act of you being alive is influencing people around you ways you can never imagine, and no one<\/em> will feel better off if you are gone.\u00a0 The very things that seem like catastrophes now may be the seeds of your destiny.<\/p>\n

And if you aren\u2019t sure how to make yourself feel better, look for people who are worse off than you (I guarantee you won\u2019t have to look far), and work to ease their suffering.\u00a0 It\u2019s impossible to make other people feel better without feeling better yourself.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the thing about life: It has to be lived forward, but tends to only make sense in retrospect!<\/p>\n

And by the way, if you need help: In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for the
\nNational Suicide Prevention Lifeline, I promise you they can help.<\/p>\n

What do you think? Feel free to comment down below!<\/p>\n

You are great, and I love you!
\nAnd if you love me back, click ‘share’ up at the top!<\/p>\n

B. Dave Walters Writer, Life Coach, and Talk Radio Host<\/p>\n

Find out more about me:\u00a0http:\/\/about.me\/BDaveWalters<\/a><\/p>\n

Ask me anything:\u00a0http:\/\/formspring.me\/BDaveWalters
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Become a supporter of my work: \u00a0http:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bdavewalters<\/a><\/p>\n

Pages I support:
\nJesus and Buddha<\/a>\u00a0— Interfaith dialog<\/p>\n

Gnostic Theism<\/a>\u00a0— Religion and Spirituality for the 21st Century (Join the Movement!)<\/p>\n

Love One Another<\/a>\u00a0— A group for the coolest Spiritual people on the Internet!<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cBut in the end one needs more courage to live than to kill himself.\u201d \u2015 Albert Camus Anyone who\u2019s lost a loved one to suicide knows how uniquely painful and confusing it can be.\u00a0 The death of Robin Williams opened the conversation again about how someone seems to \u2018have it all\u2019 can still choose to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":450,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100,37,47,55,80,39,116,35,114,29,81,38,92,31,46,88,28,112,41,43,48,45,30,78],"tags":[3,34,13,12,11,109,82,70,36,14,22,23,26,25,51,24,5,42,50,18,56,104,7,32],"class_list":["post-1371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-100","category-change-2","category-communication","category-emotions-2","category-family","category-fear","category-friends","category-getting-over-it","category-guilt","category-happiness","category-healing","category-hope-inspiration","category-loss","category-love-2","category-love-yourself","category-mind","category-peace","category-pessimism","category-positive-thinking","category-relationships-2","category-spirituality","category-tainted-love","category-the-past","category-worry","tag-b-dave-walters","tag-breakthroughs","tag-change","tag-emotions","tag-gnostic-theism","tag-god","tag-grief","tag-guilt","tag-hope","tag-life-coach","tag-los-angeles","tag-love","tag-peacelovemoney-com","tag-psychology","tag-rejection","tag-relationships","tag-rise-up","tag-self-talk","tag-spiritual-but-not-religious","tag-spiritual-coach","tag-stress","tag-suicide","tag-the-secret","tag-who-are-you"],"yoast_head":"\nSuicide, and making sense of the senseless. - A Reason to Smile<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Suicide, and making sense of the senseless. - A Reason to Smile\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cBut in the end one needs more courage to live than to kill himself.\u201d \u2015 Albert Camus Anyone who\u2019s lost a loved one to suicide knows how uniquely painful and confusing it can be.\u00a0 The death of Robin Williams opened the conversation again about how someone seems to \u2018have it all\u2019 can still choose to…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/areasontosmile\/2014\/09\/suicide-and-making-sense-of-the-senseless.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Reason to Smile\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-09-01T01:24:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/areasontosmile\/files\/2014\/09\/ssz3-300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"B. 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