Suicide and the unspoken pain

Suicide and the unspoken pain

Recently, we were all shocked to hear about the suicide of former Ms. World 

Cheslie Kryst. 

After winning, the title went on to work as an entertainment correspondent for the television show Extra.

She had jumped from a Manhattan apartment building. She was just 30 years old. Ms. Kryst had a

MBA and a law degree from Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Before Kryst entered the Miss USA pageant, she worked as an attorney, providing pro bono legal work for inmates who were serving unjust prison sentences. 

She seemed to have it all…

But as we see, more and more, you never know the pain someone is going through. Look at Robin Williams who made the whole world laugh yet was  obviously dying inside or Anthony Bourdain who traveled the world tasting exotic foods or Kate Spade, designer to the stars, all had a perfect life or so we thought. 

You never know what anyone is going through, the pain that they carry from childhood or the mental illness that they try to hide. We all pretend that our lives are better than it seems. Why do you think social media is so popular? We want to look at others' perfect lives because we feel ours aren't perfect.

But it's all a lie, half of the social media "influencers" can't pay the rent, are into drugs, go from one dysfunctional relationship to another yet we only see the glamorous side of their lives that they want us to.

Why can't we be real? Why can't we talk about the real issues here? Why can't we speak out about our pain or our mental illness? Oh yes, because then we are perceived weak, we are made fun of or worse we are made into a meme for the world to laugh at. 

Yes, this is what it has come down to, this is the unforgiving, cancel society we are living in today and unless we all start being real we will hear more and more about people with "Perfect" lives taking their own lives.

I speak about this from being there. I hit rock bottom twice, and I didn't want to go on. In my first suicide attempt, I was just sixteen years old. After they pumped my stomach, they sent me on my way because back then, you didn't talk about your feelings. You sucked them up, put on your big girl panties, and kept it moving. 

By the time I hit rock bottom the second time, the world had changed its feelings about reaching out for help, and even though I didn't go through with it, I was tethering on the edge. I went so far as having written letters to my loved ones and planning it out, but God intervened. I got the help I needed with seeking out a therapist and finding an amazing church and church family. 

But no one would have ever guessed what I was going through. I had a big house, lots of money and toys. We were the perfect family. How could that be possible? Because I lied, I showed the world what I wanted them to see, just like all of these other people have done.

So today, my friends, let's try to remember that so many people are suffering in silence. So many people are holding on, tethering on that ledge, and your kindness, your words of encouragement could make all the difference. Let's all try to realize that so many people are fighting a battle inside themselves. Mental illness is not a joke and should not be made fun of. We need to be real with our feelings; we need to be honest so that we may help ourselves and others who are watching. We need to change the landscape of social media by talking more about these issues. It is okay to be human, to screw up, and to have failures because we all are human. 

And like I say at the end of every blog...Be the change you want to see it starts with you.

@TreadmillTreats