It was 2:35pm, the weather was fine outside, but it seemed cold inside.

I was seating at the edge of the bed, with too many sad thoughts in my head. I asked the question, why me?

I had just received that phone call that made the earth varnish from under my feet. I felt totally frustrated. After all these years, is this how everything will end? I had given up, as I picked up my phone, nothing seemed to make sense anymore.

I started stabbing frantically at my device, writing down what would seem to be my last note to the world. I deactivated my password for easy access to my phone. The time seemed to be going pretty slow, and it didn’t look like anything was going to make me change my mind.

I thought about how sad my parents would feel. I thought about how the love of my life would feel, and my friends. I know they’d feel disappointed in me for giving up. But at this point, I just didn’t care. I asked myself, is this being selfish, or is it revenge against life itself?

Then I started thinking about the best and easy way to do it.

I wished for a gun to make it painless and faster. But unfortunately, I didn’t have one with me. Should I go for the hangman’s noose, which seemed like a perfect idea? But there was no place up the ceiling to fix the rope. Then I went to the kitchen and held the knife, should I stab myself in the heart, or should I cut my wrist? The thought of inflicting pain on my body seemed tiring on its own.

Now you’ll agree with me that suicide isn’t an easy task to achieve, especially when you always get to think over the effect immediately as the thought is rushing in like the wind.
Or should I go outside and allow a car to knock me down? What if I survive it and have my bones crushed? Do I want to be paralyzed for the rest of my life? All these thoughts became tiring to even try.

While still in the process of trying to make that terrible decision, my phone rang. It was the love of my life. I couldn’t dare ignore her call, not for any reason. I picked up the phone, and on the other end I heard, baby are you okay? Immediately I started crying and that was how I knew I couldn’t do it.

Are you going through the hardest of time of your life, or are you feeling suicidal lately? This is to tell you that you’re not alone.

Suicidal behavior is a major health concern in many countries – developed and developing alike. At least a million people are estimated to die annually from suicide worldwide – especially the young and middle-aged. The suicide rate among young adults had been skyrocketing even before the pandemic started. Now experts fear that the situation is going to get even worse.

The rate at which we feel depressed in today’s society is alarming. People feel depressed from not being financially stable; to not feeling fulfilled; to lack of motivation in life; betrayal by a loved one; poverty; unemployment; the environment; and peer influence.

Recent research has shown that millennials – people born from roughly 1981 to 1996 – are more likely to die prematurely from suicide and drug overdoses than previous generations are.

Now even more challenges loom over young people. From the economic recession to social-distancing restrictions that were designed to help curb the spread of the coronavirus; young people who had hoped to find a partner haven’t been able to date in person for months.

It is evident that in today’s society, young adults are financially and generally stressed, and it’s driving some of them to extremes. In a report published last year by the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality, the mortality rates of people from ages 25 to 34 had risen by more than 20 percent since 2008.

The sad thing about suicide is that it happens among educated young adults, who must have obtained at least a high school certificate, or a college degree.

However, some young adults feel frustrated and embarrassed that they aren’t able to afford “adult things” such as houses and vacations; the good life; good cars; either because they don’t earn enough or because they are handcuffed to enormous bills and debt. This can cause shame, and shame is one of the big drivers of suicide. The difference between what we have and what others have can prompt the bone-deep shame that leads to suicidal ideation.

The advent of social media has not helped this situation either. Instead, it has led to an increase in depression and suicide rates globally. All the fake lifestyles and fake happiness that’s displayed on jpeg – just to make you the viewer assume a perfect life – has led to this downturn. With the lack of money and the need of the idyllic life, young adults have experienced extremely high levels of anxiety and depression. This has driven a lot of young adults into the usage of various forms of depressant, from alcohol, to drug usage – just to create that escape they crave. At the end, it is just like a smokescreen. They end up feeling more depressed and more abused with whatever form of escape they’re already used to.

The competing crises of 2020 are likely to make all of these worse. A lot of dreams and life expectations were shattered this year, and this has led more young people into an unknown future. As the economy folds in on itself, the gains that the older adults have made in the past 10 years may be erased entirely. However, a recent survey found that 31 percent of people between the ages 18 to 34 lost their jobs or were put on a temporary leave because of the pandemic, compared with 22 percent of those ages 35 to 49 and 15 percent of those ages 50 to 64.

These alarming trends don’t mean we should give up on young adults or on anyone else who is contemplating on hurting themselves. No matter how perfect you think your life is, just have it at the back of your mind that someone around you is trying to live through depression. One of the best ways to prevent suicide is to make people feel less alone by assuring them that someone cares about them.

One of my favorite quotes is that; “if you can’t help, at least don’t make them feel bad about themselves – life could be worse.”

As you go out every day, don’t fail to put a smile on the face of someone. This singular act goes a long way to make the world a better place.

You should appreciate life, because everything is going to be alright.

Article: Onyei Charles