Courtesy of hrmagazine.co.uk
I am back from the funeral home.
The 28-year-old woman has ended her life with a drug overdose.
What can I say? It was a heartbreaking experience to see her husband and the rest of the family devastated by the death. It was not the trash girl. In fact, it was a very bright, good-looking woman who loved life, was an outstanding wife, and was a fantastic mother to two 2-year-old babies.
How could it happen? Probably the same way it happened to hundreds and even thousands of victims of various drugs. When you experience the pain that radiates from people who have lost their loved ones because of drugs, you think that our nation should build not only one wall but double and triple walls. The drug cartels that take away the precious lives of our young daughters and sons must be stopped.
If it was not enough, I learned the same day that there were 47,173 deaths by suicide in our country just in 2017, along with an estimated 1.4 million suicide attempts.
Yes, life is sometimes very stressful, but should we look for this kind of "exit"?
I don't have the data on how many men were among those deaths by suicide.
What was the reason behind it? Terminal illness? Financial crash?
Broken marriage? Or just loneliness?
I can understand when the person is terminally ill and doesn't want to extend suffering... It is heartbreaking but still understandable.
I can even understand when some poor soul has suicidal attempts under drug influence.
However, every other cause that forces one to end one's life abruptly is simply the lack of character.
Mainly, it's true if that person is a man.
Every man, from a young age, must work on building confidence, character, toughness, and resilience to unpleasant surprises in life.
I don't know even one man who had a flawless life. We all face multiple problems, troubles, and challenging situations that require us to overcome or break through barriers on the road to happiness.
I just wanted to let you know that I don't need to count them here since you can recall yours.
At our young age, we think about future life as a continuous sunny day, yet every person learns earlier or later that life sucks. It takes a strong character to hold your ground.
What if you don't have strong character, what if you are not that tough?
Don't be discouraged with those difficult moments - don't give up on the first problems. You are still the man! It’s not the time to drink or take drugs in an attempt to shy away from the problem. Instead, look in the mirror and you will see the man who CAN, the man who WILL, and the man who WINS.
Now is your time to tackle the problem, to find a solution, and to maintain a balanced mood.
Remember that time is the best doctor, but also remember that you are solely a builder of your happiness.
Suicide not only ends the life of a person but also exposes them to the loss of 135 people on average, in accordance with a study by the American Association of Suicidology.
Most of all, your family is suffering. It's like a life sentence dealing with the consequences of death by suicide.
The man's man won't choose to end his life that way. It's a sign of weakness (let's exclude terminal illness); it's a sign that the challenging situation was not brought under control. YOU should manage your life. Do not allow circumstances to get in the way of living. Do not let it derail your train.
Let the challenging situation be your learning experience on the way to complete confidence in your abilities.
I know, it's not that easy, but if you consider yourself a man's man, or perhaps you want to become one, you should resist the temptation to give up.
Be stubborn. Be tough. Be resourceful. Keep yourself in balance.
You will tell yourself thanks later for handling the situation like a real man.