EDITORIAL – At long last, we’re starting to have conversations about suicide

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

ONE OF THE CHALLENGES in dealing with the suicide crisis in our province is that people have preferred not to talk about it. That’s changing, as demonstrated Sunday.

More than 200 people were at World Suicide Prevention Day at McArthur Island. In the past, Kamloops has seen much smaller events that have largely been for those impacted by suicide. Maybe a couple of speeches and lighting of candles and that’s been about it.

See also: ROTHENBURGER: We’ve got to talk about suicide, but how?

This time, though, there was a walk “to help spread suicide awareness, erase the stigma and provide hope and healing…” And there was a guest speaker as well as snacks and lots of good information.

It was emotional, painful but also uplifting.

It sounds odd to talk about “erasing the stigma” when it comes to suicide, which is a sad, tragic, violent event. But it doesn’t mean we should make suicide acceptable; it can never be that.

The stigma is that those with suicidal thoughts are sometimes reluctant to seek help. True, they often don’t want help. They reach a point in their depression that they want nothing more than to be relieved of their pain, and they see death as the only, ultimate relief.

Suicidal depression is a specific form of mental illness. We’re getting a lot better at accepting that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of and at bringing it out on the table in a positive rather than a judgmental way.

If we can just make those with suicidal thoughts understand that suicide is not a solution, that life can get better and that there’s help out there, the stigma really can be erased.

To achieve that, we all have to learn to talk about it openly, rather than hide it or ignore it. That’s why yesterday’s event was so encouraging. It was all about recognizing the problem, talking about it and doing something about it.
We’re getting there.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.