Trigger warning: Suicide Awareness
I have focused these few posts on suicide awareness, knowing that many of you may have no idea what it is like to have such depths or intensity of pain. Others may relate to seasons (whether it comes in hours, days, months, or moments) of feeling beyond what you are able to endure, and overwhelmed….again.
These are the frameworks I’m attempting to put words to. If we can articulate it, we can begin to make sense of it, particularly with the presence of an empathic witness. In that, we are no longer alone — we are felt, known, understood and brought near.
There is a sense in which you can feel untethered, or beyond reach or too far gone. And sometimes it is really hard to hold on. It can come up like a returning wave, or like a familiar feeling entering the room for a visit. Understandably so, we don’t like these visitors. It can feel heavy beyond our ability to lift. But what if it was just a part of us that we could begin to see, to recognize, or to give voice to?
What if we begin to see this returning wave not as a sure sign of our defeat, but as our internal world feeling overwhelmed and needing tended? It is rising to the surface to be heard, to get our attention, seeking connection.
For your reflection: What are the things that most trigger a sense of being flooded and overwhelmed for you? What helps us ride out the storm until it passes? Where can you add some additional support?
Action steps: Notice what it feels like in your body when you consider feeling “untethered’ from someone who cares for you. Then notice what it feels like in your body to be welcomed, wanted, and brought near. Recall a time of feeling connection — with yourself, with someone you resonate, with nature, with music, with a pet. If you can, or if it feels supportive for you, for just a moment hold that space and whisper an affirmation that surfaces for you.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-8255 or Lifeline Crisis Chat www.crisischat.org or Text 741-741
