Suicide, Christianity, mental health and so on

Life can be tough. Life can be hard. I will be the first to admit this. Fair warning though, my thoughts are all over the place right now and it will be reflected in this post.

Many times in life I have given thought to its meaning, and why the need to even push on. Failure and disappointment can really get you down, added to the real or imagined pressure from society. In truth, even having great success does not translate to happiness.

I know it’s easy for one to say, be happy. I have a post written on ‘WAYS TO BE HAPPY’ and another on ‘THINGS THAT MAKE YOU UNHAPPY‘, and they are one of the most frequently read content on my blog.

Depression is real and lately the rate of suicide has increased. It’s easy for some Christians to say, be a believer and you will not think of ending it all. Well, that’s partially true. Having a belief in God and consequently a relationship with him, gives hope. Its gives you something to look forward to. I listened to a Myles Munroe message and he said, ‘you can lose everything, but do not lose hope.’ Or was it faith? Well, I believe you get my drift.

Many people that commit suicide do so because they feel they have no more hope. I will make bold to say that, there would be many more Christians going the way of suicide, if their fear of hell was not so great.

Being a Christian does not automatically solve all your problems. You have to come to the realization that God has the best plan for you even when you are not seeing it, and that is not easy. It’s easier said than lived through. Like I always say, talk is cheap. The implementation of it is the real deal. It’s takes having a very deep relationship with God and great understanding to get to that point. Then you can have joy that the world does not give, and cannot take away.

As a Christian, I think of the prophet Elijah getting discouraged and asking God to kill him, even after he has been a prophet of God and seen God perform mighty works through him-calling down fire to consume the sacrifice before the prophet of Baal, etc. Just a single threat from Jezebel, and the Prophet Elijah ran away preferring to die.

Problems can be overwhelming and when you are in the midst of a problem/problems, it might seem that the solution is far. Many times, we are like Elijah, discouraged and seeing no solution. There are so many voices calling out and the Internet has not made it easier. It’s a good thing to stay away from it, as much as you can.

One way personally that I try to keep my head above water, is to ask myself how it would be in the next 2-3 months. I usually say, if I can get through the next 2-3 months, then I can get through the 2-3 months after that.

Another way to keep your head above water is to talk. This is also hard sometimes. There are times I have gone through my phone list thinking of who to call. Most times I just give up. It’s not like I don’t have good friends, but as a friend I also understand they have their own problems. At those moments, I feel I should not be burdening someone else with my own stuff. “Na only you get problem?” My ‘Naija’ people will say.

Sincerely, it’s great to have someone on earth, asides God that you can call and just unburden yourself to without any fear. Someone you can do life together with. It is not wise spending so much time alone in your own thoughts when discouraged. Truth is, we all want to be vulnerable, and we need to be encouraged. The problem with being vulnerable, is that, it can open you up for more pain, and no one likes getting hurt. But talking to another person about what burdens you, can make a big burden seem smaller.

Thirdly, Prayer does work. It gives comfort.

I read comments on some posts after a person has committed suicide, and I see some saying, ‘but the person looked so happy’. Well, looks can be deceiving. I am not saying people are generally walking about with sad hearts and happy smiles. There are people who are genuinely happy with their lives, they may not have everything going for then, but they have been able to unlock a certain level of joy and contentment.

Even people that have died by suicide or wished death upon themselves, were happy at one point in their lives. When Elijah was calling for fire from heaven and it came, I am very sure he was happy.

So they seemed to have picture perfect lives, why then did they see suicide as their only option?

Truth is mental health is a real issue and we cannot just ‘Christianize’ it, for lack of a better word. It requires treatment.

If you are contemplating suicide, It does takes a whole lot to commit suicide, but suicide is actually NOT the answer. It creates more problems than the one you think you are trying to solve or run away from. You don’t not want to cause more pain for the people who love you that you are leaving behind. SEEK HELP!

There are people who love you, who appreciate you, who admire you, and who believe that you are the best thing that has ever happened.

Sometimes the difference between a person who does not result to suicide, and one that does is a shift in perspective.