When Life is too Painful to Continue

I live at the top of an eight-story apartment building. One night, my roommate and I heard a big bang outside but didn’t think too much about it. We live in Mazatlan, Mexico, and now that the snowbirds are coming back for the high season, there are firework displays on the beach almost every night.

It turned out that a tenant loaded up his belongings in the elevator, went back to his apartment, and jumped off of his balcony. The bang was from him hitting a slatted overhang that jutted out slightly from the carport. He bounced off of that and fell into the street. He lay in the street motionless and bleeding. A man witnessed his fall and called the paramedics.

We watched from our eighth-floor balcony, certain that he was dead. The paramedics arrived and worked on him for about 40 minutes before transporting him. I saw him moving his arm and the medical personnel talking to him. He was not dead when they took him away. I have no idea how he is doing, but I hope he doesn’t have serious injuries and can get the psychological help he needs.

Do you know what to do if you’re feeling suicidal?

I’ve been there, and luckily, I knew what to do because I had done my research. The first time it happened, I had high anxiety and panic attacks and couldn’t sleep.

I had left my husband of 26 years, started a new job, finished my master’s degree, and bought a house, all within six months. The psychiatrist I saw couldn’t believe I was still standing. He said most people who have gone through that much change in such a short amount of time would be flat on their back.

It happened to me again 13 years later. Only, this time I was extremely depressed with high anxiety and knew that if I didn’t get the help I needed, I would end my life. I drove myself to the emergency hospital, which I was in no condition to do but made it there safely.

I walked in and told the woman at the desk that I was suicidal. I was immediately admitted and a guard was called to watch me so I couldn’t leave. After seeing the emergency nurse, she called in the social worker to evaluate me. She asked if I thought I needed to be hospitalized. I couldn’t decide, so she made the decision for me, and I was transported to a psychiatric hospital, where I was put on antidepressants and released after four days.

I need to mention that before I decided to go to the hospital, I flushed all the medication I had in the house down the toilet as a precaution.

It happened to me again about ten years later when I ran out of antidepressants during a five-day weekend. You cannot go off of the medication cold turkey. Again, I went to the emergency hospital, told the girl I was suicidal, and a doctor immediately came to see me. Of course, the guard was brought in so I couldn’t leave, also. The doctor said she could keep me against my will for 75 hours. She ordered a couple of the antidepressants that I take, and they kicked in after about an hour, and I got to go home. I’ll never procrastinate about refilling my prescriptions again.

Know that there’s help

My go-to source for medical information is WedMD. Rather than rewrite the Bible, I’ll leave you with the link to their page that has great information for taking steps to get help. Everyone should read up on what to do in an emergency situation. Remember that you can go to an emergency hospital and get immediate help—the people working at the desk know exactly what to do in such a situation. Don’t be embarrassed to share your information with them.

My neighbor was obviously serious about killing himself. I’m sure the carport overhang broke his fall, and that’s the only reason he survived. I hope I can find out how he’s doing, and I hope he gets through this tough time in his life.

A Note About Firearms

My roommate told me that her husband was hospitalized for three months due to mental health problems. He had the good sense to tell her to get the gun out of the house.

About six months ago, a cousin of mine took his life with a gun.

We’ve all seen in the media what can happen when teenagers have access to guns. Many parents learn too late that guns and teenagers are not a good combination.

Update: The young man in this article died.