suicidal thoughts are complex and suicide has the potential to affect anyone - no matter someone’s diagnosis (or lack of one), age, socioeconomic situation, or education level. we’re all human. we all need other people. and sometimes we need help from trusted mental health professionals. it’s okay to not be okay. it’s okay to ask for help. it’s okay to be human.
the earliest memory I have of suicide touching my life was the death of a classmate when I was in grade eight. but the importance of a support system only became apparent to me in high school; as some of those close to me and I faced challenges far beyond our years, we found having a few key people to open up to (including one another, trusted adults, and counsellors) made things a bit better. this piece is about a year-long dating relationship I was in as a teenager. I was abused over the course of the year. after the worst instance of sexual assault, the relationship ended. my reading of "the winter room" -in one winter room you stole
my safety and innocence, you splintered my sense of self, and I am still, afraid. oh, how I hate the memories of that day, the blood spilled after. I hated you and what you left behind, and I am still, afraid. in my silence, you heard permission. with my body, you took control. you altered my familiar. and I am still, afraid. |