Even One Life is Too Many

My professional life is spent helping people get back to their best or to pass with respect. It is a strange world. One that should affect me emotionally. I get to be present when patients are declared cancer free or told that a surgery saved their loved one’s life. I am also present when someone is told they have a limited amount of time left or when someone takes their last breath. There have been times in which I am the only one in the room with the patient as they pass while we hold hands.

Emotions escape me. I do not know if this is a safety mechanism or a part of my depression, but I simply do not feel.

As I read more about depression both from the psychology world and people diagnosed with it, I am baffled by the lack of ability to experience emotion.

Is the lack of emotion part of why people choose to take their life? Are they so numb to everything that that leads to a pain in the soul that can only be understood by those who have been there? Are they so numb that for the brief moment before they kill themselves, they actually feel?

How do we know to check in on our friends, family, or strangers? Do we wait until we see warning signs? Or do we act daily to ensure that we do not lose another person who deserves to have a future?

Even one life is too many to lose.

While we should do this daily, I encourage you on the 22nd of every month to call and check your battle buddy. Military or not, we deserve to see each other tomorrow.

#twloha

 

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