Mental Health Signs/Greyhounds Break Out With 2 Wins

If you glance the obits from time to time, you will probably notice as I have, the increased number of deaths due to suicide or overdose. This trend has been on an uptick since 2020 and an article published recently via legacy media concluded that SSM had one of the highest rates of opioid overdose numbers in the province. One has to wonder as to the reasons behind the sad but true fact here in Algoma; it could be our the proximity to the American border, the homelessness situation, economics, or whatever. The bottom line is that it is real.

I have also been aware of the very high suicide rate in our community as I have known of personally or known of informally, at least 20 people in the last two years that have taken their own lives. I have also been aware that at least double that number have done the same as per the last paragraph in the obits which says “please make any donation to Canadian Mental Health” etc. Statements of that nature are a indicator that the person written about took their own lives.

For whatever reason these suffering people chose to end their lives is irrelevant, as you can’t untie this knot; all we can do is to try and possibly influence this sad situation from not coming about within our own hemisphere of family and friends by observation.

I would like people reading this to maybe make that phone call to that person that they may know of that has a substance abuse problem via alcohol, drugs, etc. That person with depression issues or mental health issues is also a person that could succumb to their demise; especially during the run up to Christmas and the New Year.

Obviously we should watch out for the signs year round, but during the month of December, without checking the numbers, I would guess that suicides are higher during the 12th month of the year. 

Why is that? 

Well my observations lead me to think that commercialism is a main reason for people to feel left out and alienated. All of the commercials on tv and social media show people laughing, hugging, and insinuating that life is just great and that money grows on trees. 

Many people may not have family, may not have high paying jobs, may not have many friends, and may not have the ability to mentally fight through these lonely times. 

I could go on and on and on about this topic but I have to shut up, keep it short and simple, and maybe the message sticks.

It is nice to receive a nice email, Messenger message, or text, but the real show of empathy is in the human voice. 

I don’t follow the Facebook copy and paste challenges like “upload your most recent photo“, or “what was your first job” etc but I do have a challenge and I am pretty sure that if some of you follow it; you may be surprised at how good you will feel when you reach out to someone unexpectedly and receive a very grateful response back. 

If you know someone that may have any of the issues going on that I wrote about above; please take 15 measly minutes and call that person under the pretense of “just saying hi”. You may never know how powerful your  human voice was to the person you have just called, but you will know that, at the end of the day…..it can be only one thing…….positive.

This is my only Copy/Paste/Challenge.