The silence cries for help

    For all the personal mountains everybody has to climb, for every struggle that does not immediately come packaged with a convenient solution, there is still a new day ahead. There is still a tomorrow. Regardless of age group, class standing, gender or race, suicide is the irrefutable result of pain crying out to be healed.

On the campus of Keene State College, the seriousness of suicide is as absolute as anywhere else. The finality of taking one’s own life and its effects on parents, faculty and fellow students isn’t taken lightly. Standing between the many morbid aspects that frame such a reality, prevention remains the light trying to break through the black cloud.

A force attempting to power that light is Save.org. According to the educational Web site, there are basic warning signs of depression adolescents and young adults emit such as anger, dramatic mood swings, isolation, difficultly to concentrate in class and a loss of interest in favorite hobbies. Substance abuse, recklessness and a disturbing fascination with death are what manifest from suicidal thoughts.

The site emphasizes how inappropriate it is to downplay a person’s reasoning for wanting to take their own life. “Help” is the best four-letter word to use. Accepting the instability of someone’s emotions is the first step in slowly treating them.

In today’s world of mirco-blogging and expression through social networking sites, new and frightening dimensions of suicide have been created. Youth expressing themselves through a computer screen has made it increasingly difficult to understand their psyche. Anyone with a Facebook account can understand the circumstances of updating a status with “I feel like I want to die” if the past academic week has been tough.

Unfortunately, this generation has been desensitized to hearing common phrases that should really be sounding alarms and, many times, those who are in danger will go unheard. The vastness of 21st century communication does not have a filter for dangerous messages that can potentially stop self-destruction.

Discovering those in despair remains only half the battle. No matter the situation, the affected individual still has a choice. However, it is up to everyone to listen. Life has the ups and downs of some of the most treacherous roller coasters. But it still can be a great thrill. Don’t jump when there are so many opportunities to be lifted up.