When I opened the door to our home, I gasped at what I saw. Clothes covered every inch of the living room. Socks littered the newly vacuumed floor I’d left that morning. Belts were hanging from the ceiling fan, and camping supplies were strewn all about. I raced for the phone to call 911. I couldn’t believe it! “God, no! How could someone break into…
When I scheduled the pre-release party for Tears to Joy, I had no idea that it would serve to kick off Mental Illness Awareness Week. Sadly, millions of people with a mental illness fail to get help, because of the stigma associated with mental illness. Stigma exists because of ignorance. I hope as people read Michael’s story of his battle with bipolar disorder, it will…
People mean well — but their words are often like knives that strike us to the core of our being. Most of the time they don’t even realize the hurt that they’ve caused us when they say things like, “If you just trust God, then you won’t feel depressed,” or “Christians are to be joyful always so snap out of it.” There are lots of…
This week is National Suicide Prevention Week and today is World Suicide Prevention Day; unfortunately, many people believe the myth that if you talk with someone about suicide, you plant an idea in their mind. The opposite is true. If someone is thinking about suicide, talking about it could spare his life. In 2009, there were 36,909 suicides in the U.S. (100.8 suicides per day; 1 suicide…
Last week, a women in our SOS (Survivors of Suicide) support group shared how she cringes each time she hears someone say, “Oh if that happened, I’d kill myself,” or “I could just shoot myself.” Phrases such as these have become second nature for many and unfortunately, the speaker rarely thinks about the implications of what is being said. Rarely is the speaker actually contemplating…
Someone recently shared this link with me and I was so moved, that I wanted to share it with you. Lacey Sturm, a singer in the band Flyleaf, talks candidly about her past as an atheist and her plan to complete suicide. There are times when we have no idea that someone we love is contemplating suicide, and there are times when warnings ring out…