We Don’t Know
what they are going through.
It is so easy to be annoyed at others. They do such stupid and lame things and sometimes what they do ends up messing with other people’s lives, like mine. Very annoying.
Of course I don’t know that much from their perspective, and to be honest, why should I? I have so much on my plate already. Instead, let me look for ways to release my frustration by talking about them to others either semi-privately (because secrets rarely remain that way), or on social media (I might hide their names and just complain about the general incompetence I’m finding in, say, the Service Sector).
Then I read, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”
My clever words absent any care and concern for others can destroy fragile souls.
But, not today.
Today I will be kind and thoughtful.
Today I will listen to learn more than attempting to lecture and advise.
Who knows? It might encourage someone to live another day.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide rates
Leo Sher. QJM. 2020.
Abstract
Multiple lines of evidence indicate that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has profound psychological and social effects. The psychological sequelae of the pandemic will probably persist for months and years to come. Studies indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with distress, anxiety, fear of contagion, depression and insomnia in the general population and among healthcare professionals. Social isolation, anxiety, fear of contagion, uncertainty, chronic stress and economic difficulties may lead to the development or exacerbation of depressive, anxiety, substance use and other psychiatric disorders in vulnerable populations including individuals with pre-existing psychiatric disorders and people who reside in high COVID-19 prevalence areas. Stress-related psychiatric conditions including mood and substance use disorders are associated with suicidal behavior. COVID-19 survivors may also be at elevated suicide risk. The COVID-19 crisis may increase suicide rates during and after the pandemic…
We really don’t know what others may be going through. Best to be kind.