When In Doubt Reach Out
Those are some very strong words in that headline. Unfortunately they came a little too late for former Australian Idol singer Levi Keremea who took his own life in Brisbane last night by falling from a hotel balcony. Levi finished sixth on the first year of Australian Idol but was actually really popular with the group he was in composed of his brothers and called Lethbridge.
On one of the Facebook memorial sites set up for him after his death, a lot of the messages talked about how he had been depressed recently and could not seem to pull out of it. In response, someone posted the headline that I used here. Last month a popular Australian television actor also committed suicide by falling off a hotel balcony because he too was suffering from depression.
I'm not a doctor, obviously, and I don't even play one on tv, so I don't know about clinical depression or anything like that. I do know though that just going through something in life can leave someone in a funk or depressed and you often don't see a way out. At that point, you just need to find anyone you can to talk to. It is amazing how restorative even a few words from someone can be, whether they are about you or the weather. Sometimes it is just that one on one which can start the process. Also, if your friends seem lethargic or out of it for no reason or if you do know a reason, take some time to give them a call before you read this site. Depression happens to almost everyone at some point in their lives. Obviously as we have seen in the past month in Australia it happens even to people who have a great deal to live for and who we probably never would suspect are depressed. When in doubt, reach out.
Amen to that!
ReplyDeletewow .. great commentary and better advice. thanks enty!
ReplyDeletehow awful.
ReplyDeleteSo true! Two Korean performers also committed suicide recently. Sad.
ReplyDeleteWell said.
ReplyDeleteThe shame of it is that if someone is hell bent on suicide, nothing that anyone says or does is going to stop them. Yes, there are signs to look for but if the person in question is intent on doing it, they can really hide it well. Actually, they can even display a joyful attitude right before they commit due to the fact that they have resolved it in their mind and there is a sense of relief that the pain will be over soon. To throw yourself off a balcony may sound like it could have happened on a whim but unless he was wacked out of his head on dope or drunk off his ass....it was prolly planned. Very sad event. I just hope that his friends and family do not blame themselves for not seeing signs or not stopping him. That is the worst thing about suicide.
ReplyDeletethank you for this enty. suicide is an epidemic at this point and no one wants to talk about it. my brother completed suicide, and it's devastating to those left behind. thank you.
ReplyDelete