Tobi-the-grim-meeper on DeviantArthttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/https://www.deviantart.com/tobi-the-grim-meeper/art/Suicide-Prevention-Stamp-155652622Tobi-the-grim-meeper

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Suicide Prevention Stamp

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{EDIT} BEFORE YOU COMMENT: 
Please note that this stamp was created in 2010. It is currently 
(at the time of me updating the info section) 2018. The views expressed in this stamp are no longer views that I share, and I owe an apology to anyone suffering from mental illness or who have been negatively impacted by viewpoints similar to the ones expressed here. A couple of years after making this stamp, I realized just how complicated mental illness can be. I hadn't known that my family has a history of mental illness and that depression and anxiety disorders run in both sides of my family. I only learned this when I myself started suffering symptoms including paranoia, irritability, anxiety, and chronic fatigue, and was subsequently diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The time between the first emergence of these symptoms and my diagnosis was very scary and lonely because I was convinced I was alone and going crazy. I felt like my life was spiraling out of control and that I was trapped. Something I then realized was true for anyone suffering similar mental illnesses. The support of my family was an important aspect of my recovery, but I also realize that I was and am very fortunate to have a solid support system behind me every step of the way. There are so many out there who cannot say the same, and I would like to offer a formal apology for the views expressed in this stamp and in the previous "deviation info" section below. As someone who now knows all too well how difficult it can be to deal with a mental illness, even with support from family/loved ones, I offer an apology and my best wishes to those fighting mental illness, even more so to those who are doing so alone. I hope that you make it through this, and that you survive. But I also know it is not now and will never be my place to speak for others in terms of their suffering, and that words, even well-meant, can be devastating and harmful to the recovery process associated with mental illness. Please know that I no longer believe what I posted here years ago and do intend on fully removing the stamp/replacing it with something more constructive soon.


This is a topic that's really been getting to me lately, and I figured it was time to take a stand.

A few points I'd like to make:

:bulletblack: For those people who believe that killing themselves will bring them honor--that it will serve to make others finally notice and remember them...how will you know if it worked?
If you seek to make a statement through your death, you will never be able to see its effect on those around you.

:bulletblack: Are you really willing to do that, and hurt your family and friends in that way? Maybe you go by unnoticed most of the time, and maybe you are lonely, but there will always be someone in this world that loves you. You have no idea what that does to them, or the pain it inflicts. And unlike other cases in which you could have apologized for being the cause of that pain, you can never be there for them again. Whether they blame themselves for your death, whether they spend years living in denial, or whether they just miss you so much...they will have been cheated of your existence. Think of all the people you love, and the people who love you, even if they have strange ways of showing it. I certainly wouldn't want to do something like that to the people I love.

:bulletblack: Death is not your only option. To seek it as your "way out" seems like a waste of your time. Why give the world the pleasure of seeing it's gotten to you, that you're killing yourself as a result of what it decides to throw at you? I believe that true courage is living through all the bad things, pushing through all that opposes you, and never giving up. Why? Because it means that you're not going to let anyone or anything decide your fate. It makes you strong, and gives you the opportunity to be something. And in the end, isn't that what everyone aims to do?



...You're not alone in this world, not a single one of you. There will always be someone out there, waiting for you. If you haven't found that person yet...what's keeping you from looking for them? At best, you can always talk to a friend. You may not believe this but most of the time, they really do care. They want to be there for you...why not give them the chance?


Feel free to use. If you know someone who's suicidal, please don't ignore them. Even if they refuse to admit it...they need you.
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