Courtney Luke

Suicide Is Not Selfish

Life with mental health, like any other illness, comes with its own unique set of struggles one must learn to overcome. Yet, for many, the biggest struggle it seems is the way in which people treat, speak to, and see those who live every day with the diseases. The dialogue that surrounds mental health can be quite discouraging for those who have the diseases, which makes it incredibly difficult for them to reach out, get help, and get support. One of the worst infractions I notice is when the topic of mental health comes up, we use a vastly different dialogue for it versus when someone has a physical illness. When someone has a physical illness, they are met with support, with empathy, with understanding, with so many wonderful things. Yet, when someone has a mental illness they are met with ire, with things like “Just be positive.” “So and so has it worse than you.” “You should try X, Y, or Z.” “Oh so and so has it, and they treated it like this.” “Why can’t you just be happy?” Honestly, I could go on for hours with the asinine things that have been said to myself as well as others like me, and while most mean well, they do not understand how their words, their actions, and their suggestions make those with the diseases feel. Many treat us like we are pariahs, like we are something to be feared, like we are broken, like we are something that must be fixed. Especially with all the mass shootings going on in the US right now, the first thing that most people talk about is how the shooter must have or did have some form of mental illness. Yet, the conversation we should be having is how we can better assist those with poor mental health rather than blaming the diseases further, rather than creating more of a divide between those who live with poor mental health and those who don’t, rather than villainizing the diseases and those of us who live with it, and rather than further perpetuating the fears and stigmas surrounding it.