+
upworthy

self harm

Health

Simple things you can do to help someone who may be thinking about suicide

This problem is bigger than numbers. It's people. It's moms, dads, kids, siblings, grandparents, friends, and partners.

Canva

Sometimes it's hard to recognize if someone is depressed.

Suicide affects people across race, age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Quite frankly, suicide doesn't care.

More than 45,000 people died by suicide in 2020 alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For people between ages 10 and 34, it's the second leading cause of death. While thousands complete suicide each year, an estimated 9.4 million adults in the U.S. had serious thoughts of committing suicide.

This problem is bigger than numbers. It's people. It's moms, dads, kids, siblings, grandparents, friends, and partners.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Watch men read their old suicide notes in a gut-wrenching PSA about getting help.

Content warning: discussion of suicidal thoughts and actions.

Suicide is often a silent killer.

Not only has it quietly become one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., but it's often the hesitation and fear of speaking up and asking for help that makes suicide seem like the only option.

In a way, our silence is killing us. And this is especially true for men.

Keep ReadingShow less

I’m suicidal. And no, it’s not what you think.

I am safe. I am not harming myself. I do not have a plan, and I do not plan on doing anything. But I’m suicidal. And I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t.

People like to think of things like suicide in such black-and-white terms. But much like everything else we are so quick to place into categories, being suicidal falls into a gray area for me. Sometimes, I wonder if it does for anybody else.

Keep ReadingShow less