General Discussion > The Speakeasy: OOG/Off-topic Discussion

Absence; Bringing Awareness to Mental Health

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Julianni Avala:
Hello, fellow roleplayers. As many of you have known, I was away for quite some time recently. This was beginning in February, and up until basically now/ongoing.

The main reason for this post is that I want to bring awareness to you all of the importance of reaching out when you are not feeling okay.

My suicide attempt in February was a cry for help that was, luckily, answered before I lost my life. Many, if not all of you, have experienced what happens when someone does not make it. Perhaps you have been in these shoes of a survivor as well, once. Regardless of if you have, or have not, you matter.

I have noticed such an outreach of support from those close to me in EVE who know what happened. Not just Broadcast4Reps, but the roleplay community as a whole. This said, I want to ensure that people know this very fact. Despite what differences our community of roleplayers and even regular players have, hands reach out to help.

I am happy to say that an EVE player saved my life.

For those battling with any mental ailments: remember that you matter to us; remember that you are not alone; remember that if you need help, it's there; remember that sometimes, all it takes is someone to listen to what you have to say.

And that, my friends, is okay.

It is okay to reach out. We are here for you.

Love,

Sara

A List of Suicide Hotlines

Utari Onzo:
Making this a sticky because this is a topic very important to me personally, and frankly an important topic for everyone who has EvE friends that might be suffering. B4R helped me out too when I went through a dark time.

Mizhir:
I am sorry to hear this, but I am happy that you are feeling better now. A bit over a year ago I was there myself, when I hit rock bottom after a long struggle against the system that was supposed to help me. But like your story, it was also someone from EVE who helped me by calling the police.

Just writing this post brings up a lot of emotions, but I am glad that you started it because it is vital.

So thank you

 :cube:

Sofia

Lasairiona:
Just sending love and hugs.  :cube:

Thank you for bringing awareness to this... I often go through periods of severe depression and anxiety and sometimes it does reflect in how I speak to people on Eve... I'm not proud of myself for lashing out at times...

Anyway, take care of yourself and I'm glad to hear you are getting support.  :cube:

Mizhara:
I don't really tend to do the whole 'compassionate' thing in Eve or even on the boards much. As a paramedic, I spend most of my time outside of the ambulance in empathy fatigued mode, spending the capacity I have on the job and trying to avoid burning that candle on the other end while home. Thus, impatience with the 'little things' and the stuff that comes across as whiny, 'really, this is what it takes to get you crying?' etc etc becomes something of a norm and I generally just accept that I come across as such an asshole as a result.

All that said, when the shit actually does hit the fan, when limits are reached and someone in actual need reaches out... I'll be there. If I don't have any reserves to go on, I will at the very least find you someone else to talk to who does. I've been dealing with depression myself since my teens and all through my adult life, only getting an actual diagnosis in my thirties with intermittent medication when the side-effects are less onerous than the illness, so I can understand and empathize, when I've got the reserves to spare for it. I deal with it in the same way many health care professionals deal with the job, compartmentalizing, timing releases and venting when it's convenient and so on but that's not an option for a lot of people, so always reach out when you feel the need.

That said, suicidal moods will almost always be better dealt with by professionals and the very best thing anyone can do when someone reaches out for help is to give what you can, but always try to get professionals involved.

More importantly, on a more general note: Start pressuring politicians, ffs. Mental health care is wildly underfunded in every damn country on the planet. There's never enough facilities and trained personnel to care for people with mental health issues, and those that do exist are so poorly funded that they barely cope themselves. Whenever there's elections, be it local or national, push them on what their stance is on health care funding, talk to other voters about it and make them think about it, and make sure the politicians know this is an issue you'll vote on.

It's an issue both politicians and people in general like to ignore, until they themselves are in need of it. Talk about it in your circles, raise awareness not just about how we can help each other, but of how little is being done about it from both local and national governments. I am honestly tired of the fact that I've long since lost count of how many people fall between the cracks, not ill enough to get one of the few spots mental health care can offer, too ill to function well, and ending up in the back of my ambulance because there's nowhere else for them to go before things get that bad.

Anyway, rambling time over. tl;dr would probably be "Yeah, I'm probably a poor choice in that regard, but if you need to talk I probably won't make it too much worse before I get a professional involved" and "make mental health a serious subject in elections".

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