more often than not, forgiveness is something that is either mishandled or not expressed at all, which in turn causes people to have the hardest time forgiving themselves.

think about it; it seems to be human nature to allow people to have way too much influence on the way we think, feel, and act. all it takes is the wrong words, maybe a harsh look… and our minds go into over drive wondering what negative thought someone has about us and why they think that way.

what’s worse is the people doing it could be someone we love or care about… that we may have accidentally hurt them or made a mistake and they are unwilling to forgive right away if at all. then comes the beating ourselves up, sometimes literally for some who struggle with self harm, and that absolutely sucks to put it extremely mildly.

what does this have to do with preventing suicide? well, 40%-60% of people who have committed suicide are individuals who have harmed themselves. triggers for self-harm can include hurtful words or actions from people who harbor unforgiveness and bitterness either towards the person they are directing them at, or they can be taking it out on whoever they deem needs to feel their anger.  based on this one could argue that unforgiveness could be linked to suicide attempts. that one struggles to forgive themselves for the mistakes they have made, or that others’ refusal to forgive causes someone to attempt to give up on trying to make things better and right. but who am i to make this argument? hopefully, at the very least it just makes you think.

maybe i am saying that what seems external is really internal. that maybe if your words and actions are negative it could mean that you are negative and project negativity in others. but if your actions and words are positive there is a giant chance that you will be and project positivity. watch your words, and most importantly, forgive. start by forgiving others, then yourself. it’s OK to make mistakes and when you make them, they can be fixed more often than not.