September is Suicide Awareness Month. Too many families have lost a loved one to suicide. Many people around the Tristate, the country, and the world suffer from suicidal thoughts. Sometimes those thoughts take them to the edge of an emotional cliff where ending their life seems the only way to escape the demons that haunt you. But, suicide is never the answer, and Locking Arms wants to help spread the word that you are never alone.

The subject of suicide is very close to my heart. my great-grandfather committed suicide because he thought he had cancer. At least that is how his good-bye letter to his family stated the reason. We will never know what was going through his mind, the pain and mental torment he was experiencing. All of that went with him to his untimely grave. Back then, nobody would have dared talk about mental illness or suicide, people and families were very private for fear of scandal and social shame. It hurts my heart to think he felt so alone and frightened with an inability to get any kind of professional help to help him work through his thoughts and fears.

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Mental illness runs on both sides of my family. I'm not sure if anyone else ever contemplated suicide, but I have twice in my life. Both of those times were motivated by my twenty-three hours a day, bouts with anxiety. In my late teens and mid-twenties, my anxiety disorder was out of control. Feeling like it would last forever and my inability to go on living that way, I came very close to taking my own life. Fortunately, for me. I had last-minute moments of clarity that kept me from doing it. I had an ever-growing support system that helped me feel less alone, and this all happened at a time when conversations were taking place and awareness surrounding suicide was encouraged and welcomed. It was a time of awakening to the loneliness and tragedy that is suicide.

National suicide prevention week concept. Banner for September 5-11 with teal and purple ribbon awareness and text. Vector illustration.
Getty Images/iStockphoto
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But, there is still so much to learn, talk about and share about suicide. Please join me in supporting the Second Annual Locking Arms For Suicide Awareness Benefit event happening Saturday, September 11th from 6-9 pm EST.

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Let's come together and help put an end to suicide, now! For more info and to like their Facebook page, click, HERE.

If you need to talk to someone, you are NEVER alone, call or text 1-800-273-8255 or CHATEn Español, For Deaf & Hard of Hearing.

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