Trigger warning: Suicide Awareness
The essence of trauma is being afraid and being alone. Attachment trauma — being wounded in relationships that were supposed to keep us safe — leaves us feeling unseen, unheard, unwanted, misunderstood, rejected, abandoned. Trauma disconnects us.
It makes sense, then, that when someone feels disconnected, cut off, ostracized, or “othered,” the pain is beyond excruciating and the risk for suicide increases. We aren’t created to go through life (and our pain) alone.
Who are the marginalized, the anguished, the ones in our society who feel beyond reach? And what is the pathway back (or perhaps for the very first time) to connection?
Perhaps you, or someone you know, can relate to not fitting in, not belonging, or being kept on the outside. The adoptee. The LGBTQ community. A person battling addiction. Loneliness.
What if we could create a world that welcomed? That embraced. That refused to tolerate alienating another human soul, no matter what the reason.
If we know what causes trauma, what if we begin to practice what heals it? If the pathway of alienation, and othering, and disconnection leads to so much pain that someone wants to end their life, what would it look like if someone could begin to feel seen, heard, understood, and felt? And could we learn to create spaces of safety and attunement, where secure attachment could be possible?
For your reflection: Check in. Who are your safe people when life feels overwhelming? What helps you feel more connected?
Action steps: Reach out, even when it feels really hard. And check in on someone you haven’t heard from in awhile. We need each other.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-8255 or Lifeline Crisis Chat www.crisischat.org or Text 741-741
