The past few months have been hard on us all. Our normal lives were taken away from us as we were thrown into something none of us have ever experienced before. Some people shrugged this off and adapted while others had a much harder time.
All COVID All The Time
Issues with suicide are of course not new and have been affecting American society for years. During the COVID-19 lockdown, it was easy to forget about that as the news media turned to all COVID all the time and it was easy for many people to feel like they were ignored or forgotten. You might have felt trapped with no escape route. You might have felt like you had no control over your life, powerless during a traumatic event. It could be a breakdown in your existing relationship.
The Forgotten Casualties
When COVID-19 runs its course there will be the tallies that are recorded in the history books for future generations to study. But those that were infected or died of the illness were not the only ones to lose their lives. Forgotten in those numbers will be the untold numbers of people who committed suicide while stuck in lockdown with nowhere to turn.
In just one day everything changed. Your life as you knew it was taken away from you. Your job, your family, your support system, your reason for getting out of bed in the morning. It is hard to bear and if you are reading this, you have born it thus far. It has not been easy. With over 33 million Americans out of work, there was a lot of reason for despair.
Suicide Is The Next Crisis (And It’s Already Here)
The next crisis coming from COVID-19 will be the suicide crisis. It may not happen now, the effects may linger decades from now. Mental health experts are worried about the effects of the lockdown and isolation. The suicide rate in the US peaked at its highest in almost 30 years in 2018and COVID-19 may overwhelm that number.
The problem is that health experts cannot predict exactly what will happen like they could with a disease like COVID-19. But taking a wait and see approach will not work either. The pandemic already led to a rise in alcohol and substance abuse and those are some of the largest contributing factors leading to suicide.
There Is Help
The fallout from COVID-19 will continue for years and it will affect us all in one way or another. If you are contemplating suicide or know someone who is, there is help available. If you live in the York area join Nicely Done Sites, Freelance York, and Suicide Prevention Yorkat Freelance York at 2782 South Queen St on Wednesday, June 17 from 330-5 pm for teens and then 630-8 for adults, 21 and over.
At this event, you can learn about support services or just find a willing person to listen to you. You don’t have to go this alone. There is help for you available and there is no stigma about asking for help. Every American is hurting in one way or another and asking for help is the first step on the journey to move forward and healing.
This is a major national, nay global issue that governments around the world do not take seriously enough. Suicide may seem like the easy way out or a way to end the suffering but it does not have to be that way. We’ll see you at Freelance York on June 17th.
https://www.facebook.com/events/178100596978817