When I attended Exit 111 back in October, one thing was incredibly clear: Rise Above + SAVE – a suicide prevention message that needs addressing perhaps now more than ever.
I’m a fan of people using their platform for what they believe in – we may not always agree – but we all have a platform and in fact need to engage with it if we, in fact, want to create change in this world.
In this case, Shaun Morgan from Seether is using his platform for a very important message driven by the personal loss of his brother. Seether wrote the song “Rise Above This” and started the “Rise Above Fest” back in 2012 and it was dedicated to his brother.
The mission never went away and this year, Rise Above partnered with SAVE and Exit 111 to bring greater awareness to suicide and mental health.
Too many people are lost due to suicide and the statistics are shocking!
One death every 40 seconds is due to suicide – nearly 800,00 people worldwide. It’s the second leading cause of death for ages 15-24. For more facts about suicide visit https://save.org/about-suicide/suicide-facts/
In my own world, I am affected by those who struggle with depression, who have suicidal thoughts and more. I’ve lost friends and the biggest scary part of this is, that you don’t ever really know how hard it is for the other person and how close they are to take their own life.
And we simply must all participate in creating awareness, using our platforms to share the message by whatever means necessary – music, writing (blogs, books, poetry, songs), posting in social media, sharing personal struggles and how we received help and creating ad campaigns and the list goes on.
There is no shame in getting help.
There is no shame in getting support.
There is no shame in seeing a counselor.
There is no shame for being on medication.
It’s time we also remove the stigma when it comes to seeking support when we are struggling with depression and other mental health issues.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or visit SAVE online at SAVE.org for additional resources.
