I've lost a cousin to #suicide because he knew his mother never wanted him, and in turn felt like no one else did. I sat in the next room unaware when a cheerleader took her life in the bathroom at Red Oak high, then spent hours terrified that it was my friend that did it. That

same friend's mother killed herself not even a decade later. I spent years watching my sister suffer, helping her when she needed it no matter what time it was. I was there when another friend considered hurting herself when she lost her baby. I spent time sitting on the phone

talking to another after she purposely took too many pills over a guy and had to wait for an ambulance to get there. I listen to family members who just do not want to live anymore, I fight my own depression (though I never consider hurting myself over it) on days I feel like

just staying in bed. Depression is a real sickness, with real consequences, and more common than it should be. And yet so many are scared to reach out because we stigmatize it, tell them to just get happy and over it instead of giving them the real help they need.Too often people

die and the ones around them say "We had no idea." This is what makes the disease even deadlier. Anyone can put on a mask and seem like they are having the best time & life, then abruptly end that life without a warning sign. Depression and suicide have circled me my entire life.

I can't remember a time where there had not been anyone in my life suffering. It is always there, and it's terrifying. But I will alwaysbe the one to be there for you when you need it most. I will never judge, never blame, but I will do my best to make sure you have that shoulder

even if we haven't really talked in ages. I hope when the time comes, all of you will be the same. Raise awareness, be that shoulder when someone needs it, and get help when you yourself have the need.

#SuicidePreventionMonth