International mental health and suicide prevention impact entrepreneur
Here are three Cs to the success of suicide prevention:
1. Compassion
I have a friend who is going through a rough patch in life. For a couple of weeks I sent "non-demand caring contacts" to say "I notice you. I am here. I value you." I texted pictures of adventures of our past, videos that make us laugh, and future goals we aspire to. No requests. No checking in on progress. Just "I care about you" messages.
People have often done this with me-little nudges of compassion and acknowledgement-and I feel a deep connection to them. This effort is relatively easy, but is one we often don't make time for in our conspiracy of busyness. Having friends we can lean on when we are feeling down is one of our most powerful weapons against suicide.
Who are the people you know will show up for you no matter what - even if being there for you inconvenienced them? If you don't have people like this in your life, how can you build these types of connections? How are these relationships reciprocal and built around trust? Start now by sending a "non-demand caring contact" to someone you care about. Just text in your own words something like "You just crossed my mind, and my world is better because you are in it" and see what happens.
