A guest column by Vanessa Vestergaard – Program Manager for MHAGC
Bad news can hit home and directly affect all those who hear, especially the most tragic, a suicide attempt or a completed suicide. Upon waiting to hear the cause of death for the professional golf player, Grayson Murray, on May 25th, I was holding onto hope that it wasn’t due to suicide because suicide is the most preventable of all deaths. Yet, suicide demonstrates, time and time again that it is in the mind of many, even two-time PGA champions. We will never know why.
A completed suicide or an attempt is not the same for everyone. In some cases, it is a thought at first that becomes an answer. It can be either impulsive or planned. It may be through violent means or by slower methods. It may have been attempted before or it happens just one time. Suicide means that however completed, the reason will forever be unknown, while the surrounding mystery is left for those who are surviving and grieving. After the news of Grayson Murray, the remnants if his loss remind me of the need for many different types of support. Yet, how do we know where to go and who will provide us for human compassion that is needed to be shared at a difficult time? Part of the beginning starts with Mental Health America of Greenville County (MHAGC).
Access to mental health programs and services is vital for those in need of someone who can listen and provide support, without judgment, the ability to pay or their individual diagnosis. At MHAGC, we have one of the first, nationally accredited 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifelines in Greenville County and an open SOS support group for those whose loved one died by a completed suicide. Without these programs and services, navigation around mental health would be difficult but with them, many benefit. Together, we can draw upon the available resources and support of highly trained volunteers and staff whose sole purpose is to listen. We realize that we are lifted when we are heard.
Although Grayson Murray’s suicide is known through the media, our lesser-known experience with a suicide or a chronic mental health condition makes us more bound to each other through personal, lived experience. We can communicate what we have learned firsthand and what steps we have made toward the light. Even still, the national news of his completed suicide recognizes that we need to turn to each other when it matters the most. MHAGC can be the first start through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and SOS, a survivor of suicide support group.
Bad news is never easy to hear but by this one story, we can hold onto each other and deepen our common humanity and connection. Mental Health America of Greenville County will be there to listen and strengthen.
