Open Letter to My Generation

I'm writing this letter with hopes that those who suffer alone or are deemed lesser can get a bit of piece of mind!

My point is that many of us are lost, within many degrees of lost, many of us suffer from demons that get ignored and go unchecked, sometimes because we can't handle them alone, most times because we don't reach out.

I get it, depression is (pardon my french) a bitch, a big capital bitch, anxiety, loneliness, suicidal thoughts? A bunch of assholes (I think I already reached my swearing quota, as these deserve a bit more than being called assholes). We are a generation that is more connected than any before us, but we feel more alone than any before as well. And although we share our Gangnam styles or Penpineapples, we don't share our demons; we are afraid of them.

And before I go any further, let me remind you all of something.... you are not alone, and you are not the only one feeling like that. But, and I know how difficult it is, we need to reach out, we need help from others. We cannot do any of this alone.

I know that sometimes reaching for our families is difficult, even with the most supporting one, and in some cases it is borderline impossible, but there are teachers, school/university counselors, there are friends, there are even strangers online (I'll get to this point later on.... don't go trusting online randos all willie-nilly).

But before I carry on, and say things that you heard a million times before, let me get personal. I've been there; to all of you that are in a dark place, I've....who am I kidding, I am there. I've done a ton of stuff that I shouldn't, I've fallen to a point to where I thought sometimes there wasn't any coming back.

In my teens, around the age of 14, I have had myself, throughout my teens I had high and low periods. When I reached the "ripe" age of 21 I'd started getting worse, at the time I protested, listen to loud music, behaved rashly and lashed out to my family, and well... I'd really cut myself at this time, I have my legs all scared, in a place that I knew I would be caught, between the hip and the knee, both legs, part of my right and left ankle and my shoulder. At this point I isolated more than ever, and from the point I was 21 until I was 24 I was an awful family member, to my mother (whom I blatantly ignored for the most part of this period) to my stepfather (that never saw me as anything but his son), to my little sister (to whom I was setting awful example). But once again I'll touch this point further down the line. The years passed and I got better bit by bit, but had I reached out sooner things would be different, had I reached out, I wouldn't have tried to end my own life multiple times, I wouldn't need to cover parts of my body that are scared, I wouldn't have isolated my family, I wouldn't have isolated myself from friends....

But this is far from being "just another sob story," quite the opposite, I'm here as an example. Fight for yourselves! I know that is lovely to have time alone from time to time... I know how special one can feel when we act like divas... but don't shut yourselves down. Don't let your demons became who you are.

I'm not going to name names of course... but (as I did all that that I've pointed earlier) I saw my friends fighting those demons, can you imagine the pain one feels when you receive a "goodbye message," when you receive a call saying "I've just cut myself".... when you see friends being rushed to the hospital and having to take activated charcoal to get rid of poison, knowing your girlfriend just puked because she feels like she was too fat. These all happen to people I cared, fortunately, the are all alive, some like me still struggling. But after the panic, after all that... you know what I felt most of the time? I felt useless. I was on the same boat as them, too afraid to act, too afraid to save myself, and I saw those I liked those I loved hurting themselves... Together with pity, uselessness is the worst feeling.

It took me a while to really comprehend this, it took a long while... but I can say this you are not alone.... YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Thankfully, and I'm endlessly grateful I've managed to patch things with my mother and my family; I've patched things with friends. But I wasn't alone. I couldn't have done alone. And you know what... you are not alone either. And I can guarantee you are worth being alive, you are worthy of everything. Trust me.

I know that I'm luckier that many, I have a wonderful family, and this includes the family that welcomed me with open arms when my mother remarried. I have excellent friends, crazy bastards most of them, but I wouldn't trade them for anything. But, even if you are not as lucky as I am, you have a lot of resources at you disposal, you have as I pointed before school counselors, you have doctors, you have support sites like 7 Cups that can help you in a pitch, and even direct you to professionals. I've not only reached out for their help in the past, as I joined the website and helped (or tried to) others.

Please remember, you are loved you are dear to people, you are the reason behind smiles.

Life is worth it, and in no shape or form is asking for help a sign of weakness! Love yourselves! Let's beat the statistic, let's be the best generation!

Do me a favour if you get to read this, actually, do me a couple of favours. Help yourself, help others, and share the help numbers and websites, share the post if you want as well but share the numbers first.

Bellow, I will list some numbers that are meant to be used, numbers that should be called if needed. As well as the website I've mentioned before.

Australia

Australia-000 is the national emergency number in Australia.

Kids Helpline is a 24-hour nationwide service that provides access to crisis support, suicide prevention, and counselling services for Australians aged 5–25.

Canada

Kids Help Phone is a nationwide 24-hour, toll-free, confidential crisis line and counselling service available to Canadians under the age of twenty.

The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP)

Suicide Action Montréal. Suicide Action Montreal offers support services, crisis workers and monitoring for people who are at risk of committing suicide, for their friends and family and for people affected by suicide. All communication is confidential, available 24/7 and free of charge. They offer support in French and English for people in Montreal's greater area. Their number is 1-866-APPELLE. This line is also available to anyone in Québec. People will be redirected to their local Suicide Prevention Center.

Amelia Rising Sexual Assault Centre of Nipissing. Amelia Rising provides support groups, one on one counselling and a 24-hour crisis line for both women and men in crisis. They operate in both English and French and serve the greater Nipissing area of Northern Ontario, though they accept collect calls.

Trans Lifeline is a toll-free crisis hotline available in the United States and in Canada for transgender people staffed by transgender people.

Youthspace.ca is an emotional and crisis support line for youth 30 and under across Canada. It is accessed via IM on the website or through text (778-783-0177). The support line is open every day from 6pm to midnight PST, and each chat is one-to-one with a trained volunteer working with the support of staff members.

France

15 is the national emergency number in France.

Fil santé jeunes: 0800 235 236: anonymous and tool-free number for young people.

Suicide écoute: 01 45 39 40 00 (24-hour): suicide prevention helpline (volunteers).

SOS Suicide Phénix: 01 40 44 46 45 (schedule): suicide prevention through listening and hospitality (volunteers).

Sos amitié: distress listening on multimedia platform: phone, email, chat (volunteers).

La Croix Rouge Ecoute: 0 800 858 858: psychological support online, anonymous and free (volunteers).

Germany

Telefonseelsorge (24/7, no cost): 0800 111 0 111 (Protestant), 0800 111 0 222 (Catholic), 0800 111 0 333 (for children and youth)

India

AASRA is a 24-hour nationwide voluntary, professional and confidential service that provides access to crisis support and suicide prevention.

Iran

Iran Organization of Well Being has provided the free and governmental hotline, 1480, by which the specialists give different types of consultations for a variety of problems such as marriage, family, youths and children, suicide, etc. to those in need. this hotline is open from 6 am till 9 pm everyday and its services are reached from all provinces of Iran.

Ireland

Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in distress or at risk of suicide throughout Ireland.

Italy

Servizio per la Prevenzione del Suicidio (SPS) is a suicide prevention helpline whose mission is to give psychological and emotional support to anyone in suicidal crisis or to anyone who lost a dear one for suicide, through a confidential listening from an equipe of doctors, psychologists and volunteers. The helpline is operating from 9:30 am till 4:30 pm, from Monday to Friday, and it can be reached from all regions of Italy.

Japan

TELL provides a free, confidential English-language Lifeline service, plus clinical mental health services, for the international community in Japan.

Korea

Suicide.org has a list of South Korean suicide hotlines.

Other sources are available for Koreans and English speakers living in Korea. Information provided by Eat Your Kimchi.

Mauritius

Mauritius Suicide Prevention Lifeline is an emotional support helpline in Mauritius whose mission is to alleviate feelings of despair, isolation, distress, and suicidal feelings among members of the community, through confidential listening. The helpline is intended for suicide prevention and the promotion of mental health.

Netherlands

113 Suicide Prevention is an independent care provider subsidized by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (Ministerie van VWS). The foundation has been active since September 2009. The organisation employs psychologists and psychiatrists and a large group of fully trained volunteers. 113Online has a close working relation with the Mental Health Institutes' crisis centres. Together these professionals are available 24 hours a day for crisis dialogue, treatment or referrals.

New Zealand

Lifeline Aotearoa is a New Zealand organisation providing free 24-hour counseling and phone help lines.

Romania

Alianţa Română de Prevenţie a Suicidului is a Romanian support helpline whose mission is to give psychological and emotional support to those that find themselves in depression, those who are in a psychological crisis and those who are suicidal. Help is offered by psychologists and volunteers from Psychology Universities.

South Africa

LifeLine Pietermaritzburg is a registered Non-profit organisation in Pietermaritzburg South Africa. The organisation has been around for the past 43 years. Lifeline Pietermaritzburg focuses on rendering psychosocial support to the Pietermaritzburg community through the mediums of counselling - email, face-to-face and telephone- community dialogues and awareness campaigns, HCT (HIV counselling and testing) as well as various training's which are both SETA and non SETA accedited. All services other than some trainings are free.

United Kingdom

PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide is a registered charity. It is the national charity campaigning for prevention of young suicide. It operates a helpline providing short-term support and advice for anyone concerned about themselves or a young person they know. PAPYRUS also offers training such as the international ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) program and bespoke packages.

Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in distress or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom.

Campaign Against Living Miserably is a registered charity based in England. It was launched in March 2006 as a campaign aimed at bringing the suicide rate down among men aged 15–35.

United States

911 is the national emergency number in the United States.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a 24-hour, toll-free, confidential suicide prevention hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. A 24-hour an Online Chat in partnership with Contact USA is also available.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is a non-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy, and to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those impacted by suicide.

Crisis Text Line is the only 24/7, nationwide crisis-intervention text-message hotline.

Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in distress or at risk of suicide throughout the United States.

The San Francisco Night Ministry provides free confidential telephone counseling between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. Pacific Standard Time to anyone from any locality.

The Trevor Project is a nationwide organization that provide crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.

Trans Lifeline is an American organization that provide crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to transgender and non-binary individuals. Trans Lifeline offers service throughout the United States and Canada.

Brasil

CVV

Emergency number: 141

Also try the Suicide Watch Reddit.