Several months ago I read yet another sad, or better said, gut-wrenching, story of a young man who decided life would be easier if he just gave up and left it behind for something else.
His mother is naturally grief stricken and almost beyond comfort. “My heart is broken beyond repair and I can not fathom how to go on…but I have to believe he is at peace with the Lord and that God will get us through.”
His brothers and sisters and countless other family members as well as his friends are devastated.
Suicide is unfortunately a choice of last resort for many, many people suffering from depression. Or facing a devastating diagnosis. Or being bullied and taunted by selfish and uncaring people until they can’t take it any more.
This particular young man was suffering from depression. He was being treated and counseled by professionals. He was greatly loved. But for him, it just wasn’t enough.
And we’re hearing so many more stories like this, and far too often.
Just ten days ago a car drove off a privately owned pier here in Virginia Beach very early on a Saturday morning. A couple of joggers were out on the boardwalk that morning taking pictures of the sunrise and happened to videotape the car as it drove along the pier, smashing through barricades and gates, pausing only once, and then plowing through the last barricade before it plunged into the ocean below, quickly disappearing into the seventeen foot seas below.
Police were on the scene within 4 minutes, but there was no sign of the car or anyone in the water. Divers had to wait several days to safely go down to see about the car which was resting upside down in the water, and try to get some evidence to at least identify the vehicle, since it was too dangerous to try to go close enough to look inside the car and determine how many people had been inside.
All I could think of was surely, somewhere there’s someone who’s trying to find a friend or a loved one who’s missing, and wondering if that person or persons could be inside that car. But no one came forward. Maybe they were from out of town and no one knew they were missing. Or maybe they had no one to care enough about them to check on their whereabouts.
Finally three days later there was a report of a missing person that could be the driver. But we still don’t know. Even now that the car was finally pulled out of the water almost a week later. There was a body of a male inside, but still no idea who it was since the license plate on the car was gone. Most likely the police have a good idea, but haven’t said anything yet until the family has been told.
A memorial has started on the pier, growing daily, with cards, signs, flowers and the like, posthumously letting the world know that this one person’s life will not be forgotten.
But what could possibly cause someone to be so depressed, so downtrodden, and feeling so hopeless and alone that they just felt there was no way out except to end their life? How could they leave behind people who love them and care about them? What went so wrong in their life that they just couldn’t face it anymore?
I have no answers. They will hopefully be coming soon, and I’m sure the answers won’t be the answers that any of us want to hear.
Nothing can be so bad that there is no way out except ending your life.
Nothing.
If you or someone you know is suicidal or suffering from severe emotional distress, there are resources out there. One is the 988 suicide and crisis hotline. It’s a national network of local crisis centers that provide free and confidential support. They are available to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can learn more at 988lifeline.org.