(Depression and Suicide)
Jessica has not been herself lately. Before, she
always looked as if she had just stepped off the
page of a teen fashion magazine. Now she comes
to school in clothes that look like they've been
slept in, and her hair is a mess. She hardly
touches her lunch and is losing weight fast.
Before, she was at the mall every Saturday. Now
she never wants to go shopping. When you ask
what is wrong, she says her parents are getting
a divorce because her dad is drinking, doing
drugs and beating up on her mom again. He joined
AA and was doing well, then he lost his job.
"Everything is falling apart", she cries. "I've
tried to talk to them but they won't listen. Mom
says she wishes I would just go away. Then she
wouldn't have to worry about anyone but herself
and could do her own thing. I just want to die
and be rid of this pain."
Valarie, who has never missed school in the past
three years, has missed the past two days. When
you call her she says that she and Bret have
broken up after dating for three years. "Things
will never be the same. I can't live without
him. When I tried to talk to Mom she says it's
just puppy love and I will get over it. She
doesn't care. Since my step dad left she stays
out late at night and misses a lot of work. Bret
was the only thing in my life that made it worth
living. Besides that, I found out Monday I was
pregnant. I just want to die. I can't stand this
pain."
Jason, an honor roll student and a star running
back on the high school football team, was
busted last Saturday night with a group of
friends. The charges: breaking and entering,
grand larceny, possession with the intent to
deliver. His parents have declared that he is an
embarrassment to the family and have disowned
him. He is facing a possible 15 years in prison.
When a friend asks what he can do to help, Jason
cries, "Nothing! There is no hope for me. My
future is ruined, my parents have kicked me out.
All they ever wanted was for me to be the
perfect son. They never let me choose for
myself. I always had to do what they wanted me
to do. And nothing I ever did was good enough.
If I made a mistake they would tell me what a
disappointment I was to them. I wish I could
die."
Jessica, Valarie and Jason are suffering major
depression and are prime candidates for suicide.
When life becomes unbearable many teens attempt
suicide, and often succeed. According to
statistics there are14 suicides every day in the
15-24 age group. And each year more than 500,000
attempt to take their lives.
Do any of the three scenarios resemble you or
someone you know? If so, here are some things
you can do:
Recognize the symptoms: withdrawal from friends,
rebellious behavior, drug and alcohol use,
serious personality changes, poor grades, talk
about death, lack of participation in
pleasurable activities, giving away prized
possessions, complaints of physical problems.
Read these stories of famous Bible people who
suffered from depression and wished to die.
---Job,....Job 3:20-26 Through no fault of his
own Job had lost all his possessions, his
children had been killed by a terrible storm,
and his wife told him to curse God and die. Even
his friends made unfounded accusations against
him. He wanted to die. Then God blessed him and
restored to him more than he had at the
beginning.
---Elijah,....1 Kings 19:3-5 Queen Jezebel had
sworn to kill him because he had taken a stand
for God. He felt he was all alone, that there
were no other believers. He ran away and hid and
wished to die. God fed him in a miraculous way
and assured him that there were many more people
of God who had not become involved in idol
worship.
---Solomon,....Ecclesiastes 2:17 Solomon, the
wisest and richest king of his time tried
everything his heart desired and nothing
satisfied him. He decided life was not worth
living.
---Judas,....Matthew 27:3-5 Because he loved
money more than the Lord Judas betrayed Him for
30 pieces of silver. Jesus was condemned,
mocked, beaten and crucified. Judas hanged
himself.
---David,....Psalm 18:4,5 Just because King Saul
was jealous of him, David became a fugitive who
had to flee for his life for many years with
Saul in hot pursuit. When King Saul finally
died, David became king himself.
---Moses,....Numbers 11:11-15 Moses, with God’s
help, had lead a nation of several million
people out of slavery and was taking them to a
land of their own. But because things got a
little tough the people turned against him and
threatened to stone him.
---Ahithophel,....2 Samuel 17:23 Ahithophel was
the kings wise advisor, but because some of the
people rejected his suggestions he went home and
killed himself.
---King Saul and his armor-bearer,....1 Samuel
31:4-6 The enemy had defeated Saul’s army,
killed his sons and was coming for him. Rather
than face death at the hand of the enemy he
killed himself and his armor-bearer followed his
example.
Whatever the reasons for wishing to take your
life, God's Word gives hope, and is a living,
powerful source to help you overcome. Here are
verses to help.
---Hopelessness: Put your hope in God. Psalm
42:5
---Death Wish: God turns our darkness into
light. Psalm 18:4,5,28, 29
---Fear: The Lord is with you. Joshua 1:5-9;
Romans 8:31-39
---Need to escape trouble: The Lord is our
refuge. Psalm 91
---Need for acceptance: God's great love for us.
Isaiah 43:1-3; Romans 5:6-8; 8:13-17
---God heals the brokenhearted. Psalm 147:3
Sometimes when we feel hopeless and depressed
and desire to escape by taking our lives, we can
aggravate that desire by some of the activities
we participate in. Satan is just waiting to
destroy our lives by tempting us to do drugs,
listen to negative music, watch violent
television programs, or just think negative
thoughts. These are some of his strongest
tactics, and without God’s help we are no match
for the devil. We can replace such activities
with these positive ones: call a friend you
trust and talk about your problems; listen to
good music, especially praise and worship; read
some verses in the book of Psalms; talk to God
about what's hurting you. He is the best friend
and listener you could ever have.
If you still don't get relief, seek help. Here
are some places you can go either by telephone
or the web:
1-800-4-PRAYER;
---www.oncourse.ag.org;
---http://www.teenchallengecares.com
---or the local suicide hot line listed in your
telephone directory.
If you
have a friend who needs help, try these things:
Offer help, listen, encourage them to talk by
asking questions, tell a trusted person only if
necessary to save a life.
You can also post a message on our
Solomon Says
page and someone will help you.
http://www.bearwallowblessings.com/
