Warning: This article discusses suicide and suicidal ideation. The Globe encourages people to be safe and get the professional help they need most. The suicide and crisis lifeline to dial is now 988. 

For those of the readers who do not know, September is Suicide Prevention Awareness month. There is also National Suicide Prevention Week, from September 4th to September 10th, which is used to inform people on the warning signs of suicide. 

Some people might be rolling their eyes at this point in the article already. There is no need to publicize how to identify suicidal tendencies. Everyone knows what suicide looks like. Everyone is aware that some people kill themselves. Some people will die by their own will. That’s real life. 

To those people, I say with the utmost confidence that you are the kind of human being I never want to come into contact with, during any point of my life. Now, I will preface by saying I did not know my thoughts on the supposed ethics of suicide and the general public, until losing a close relative to suicide. 

Suicide is not usually a subject I discuss openly, especially not to an entire audience of people. That being said, it is a subject which should be talked about with everyone. Suicide isn’t always how the media portrays it to be. There are inherent flaws in certain views of suicide, which have the capability to change by accepting mental health and the struggles that come along with it. 

In Point Park’s environment specifically I do not think this has to be emphasized, but depression is an incredibly long and challenging battle. In Generation Z suicidal language or ideation is so normalized that I ask myself if people are aware of what they are implying when making what is seen as witty comments about suicide. 

There is an audio trending on TikTok which says, “Omg people’s depression get so bad they can’t brush their teeth? People’s depression gets so bad they kill themselves Janet,” which opens an entire can of worms, but I think this perfectly describes what lack of education on mental health can manifest as in modern day America. 

People aren’t invalid for experiencing depression at a young age. No one is invalid for experiencing mental health difficulties at any age. There is, and should be, no issue with being medicated for any mental disorder or condition. It is life-changing when people can seek destigmatized, accessible help. 

Obviously, if you notice a friend struggling, I would highly recommend pointing them in a direction where they can receive that help. Sometimes just being present with someone changes their outlook on life. To that, I thank every person who has had to talk a loved one out of suicide. I share your grief. 

The piece of information I would like everyone to take away is that what the world envisions healthy, successful people to be can be depressed too. There are people who balance a job, family, social occasions, and hobbies while considering suicide. Check-in on your quiet, loud, anxious, healthy, and put-together friends. 

You never know when someone will want or need to talk next. I urge everyone this Suicide Prevention Awareness month to educate themselves through trustworthy resources of how depression is able to appear socially, mentally, and physically. 

At the end of the day, there are people who love you.