Suicide is Painful.

The title of this blog may be paraphrasing 'The theme from M.A.S.H.' but there's nothing funny about depression.  Today is 'National time to talk' day, a day which we are encouraged to discuss depression and not just sweep it under the carpet.  

Because of this, ex footballer Clarke Carlisle spoke out today about his attempted suicide before Christmas when he jumped in front of a lorry.  He was badly injured and today he spoke about his depression which led to his suicide attempt.  Actor Ralf Little (of 'The Royle Family' fame) tweeted today about Carlisle 'Getting away with it again'.  There were widespread comments in the media including some saying how tactless Little was and others saying how selfish suicide is.

I don't wish to discuss Clarke Carlisle and Ralf Littles spat, it seems they were friends in the past and had fallen out so there was more to it.  What I would like to talk about is one of the comments on a social media site.  It was a reply to some of the more negative comments, it said, "You would have had more sympathy if it was cancer and not depression he'd had".  That's not to trivialise cancer or any other illness, it's just that even in this day and age depression still has a stigma attached to it. 'Pull yourself together' is a common mantra worldwide (In Yorkshire it's 'Shut up moaning, it'll be rate') Far more men commit suicide than women, one of the main reasons being because men don't like to talk about their feelings.  I know how that feels but I also know it's a massive weight off your shoulders when you explain to someone how you feel.  

But how can we change peoples attitudes?  We all need to be open more, to be more understanding.  We've all judged in the past, let's not judge those with blinkered attitudes.  We need to understand each other and if someone needs to talk just listen, every day should be 'National time to talk' day.