09/10/2025
Did you know that 727,000 people die by su***de every year?
Did you know that su***de is the second leading cause of death in adolescents and the fourth in young adults?
As a society, we often mislabel su***de as weakness—or even selfishness. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Su***de is rarely about wanting to die. It is often the desperate choice of someone whose pain has grown so overwhelming that the fear of living tomorrow outweighs even the most primal instinct to survive.
Think about it: every action we take—eating, breathing, moving, connecting—is driven by the innate will to live. Ten thousand years of evolution have hardwired us to avoid death. Imagine the depth of suffering it takes for someone to override that powerful survival system.
And yet, one person’s suffering can never truly be compared to another’s. Gabor Maté reminds us: *“Trauma isn’t what happens to you, it’s what happens within you when something happens to you.” What breaks one person may not break another, and that does not make anyone’s pain less real.
We need to stop comparing suffering. We need to recognize that our pain is valid, because it is the only pain we know.** We must also stop separating “mental” and “physical” health—there is only health. Our minds and bodies are inseparable, and both need care.
So please, check in with your people. Don’t be afraid to be direct: “Do you have plans to kill yourself between now and when I see you again?”* Asking this will not plant the idea—it could very well save a life.
Hold your loved ones a little closer today. Breathe deeply. Notice your aliveness. You are still here. We are still here. Let’s keep it that way.
Vanessa
