September Is Recovery Month and Suicide Prevention Month
Yes, this is another ribbon-clad awareness month, but it's a brilliant reason to actually talk about two topics we have a hard time speaking openly about: suicide and substance use.
I'm from Alaska, and we carry some of the highest suicide fatality rates and alcohol related fatality rates in the country, and since COVID, we've crept steadily up the charts on overdose too. Layer the industries I've spent my professional career on top of that, construction and oil and gas, and the picture gets a little more grim.
I have lost too many friends and coworkers to things I believe were preventable, and started sliding down that slippery slope myself. Post-Covid, postpartum, and post suicide loss, drinking became medicine to me until I was so depressed that I wasn't sure why I was still here. That thought scared the shit out of me, and the fear and anger lead me to find some solutions that would eventually lead me to sobriety and lead me to what I get to do today.
The past few years I have shared my experiences openly and weaved it into the work I do in safety & health and coaching, and you would not believe the stories that come back to me every time I share.
People tell me they're in recovery or want to be in recovery. People tell me their "almost" stories, the nights that could have gone a different way. People tell me about the friends, coworkers, and family members they lost or almost lost. My husband asked me recently if hearing all of that is hard, and I told him it's actually the exact opposite!
When someone is standing in front of me, and I can see they've faced real darkness and are somehow still standing with me, that is hope embodied! It's proof that recovery is real. It's proof that the people carrying this aren't strangers on the street, they're in the same room, working right next to you and me. They're coaching your kid's soccer team. They're the person you pass in the grocery store line. They're someone's kid, someone's sibling, someone's parent. Struggling is a common human experience, it turns out, and the people who really struggle are not OTHERS, they are you and me. A few different decisions, a few different life events, and it's you or me.
That can either scare you, or it can empower you to realize there is no hierarchy, social class, title, nothing that separates us from our own humanity. At our core, we share the same essential qualities that make us fallible to struggle, AND that give us the strength, will, tenacity, compassion to face challenge. For me, that is freeing and brings me a lot of hope!
Here's what I want anyone reading this to know: you don't have to wait until you're in crisis to make a change. The old belief that you have to hit rock bottom before change sticks is OUT and we need to stop repeating that message! I changed before some messy rock bottom, I have watched people start from exactly where they are and we need to realize a condition for change is not: wait until something terrible happens.
The earlier you decide, the more options you have, and we are living in a time with more options than ever. If you're struggling with your mental health, or with substances, or gambling, or online shopping, or whatever the case may be, you are not the only one and you have options! There are books and podcasts you can pick up. There are free meetings, in person and online, there are coaches, counselors and psychiatrists, medication assistance, and inpatient and outpatient treatment. There is a whole spectrum of support, and somewhere on it is the right tool for where you or someone you know are right now.
If someone you love is struggling, I need you to know that recovery is possible for them. It isn't easy. It takes advocacy, strength, tenacity, and a lot of love and hope to get there. Don't give up on them.
Holding out hope for someone you've watched ride the roller coaster down more than once takes real courage. Telling someone you believe in them, even after watching them struggle again and again, takes real courage. That's not the same as ignoring your own limits or boundaries: I'm not advocating for codependency or unhealthy boundaries. I am advocating for believing that the human spirit can outlast the darkness that takes hold of it, and that change is possible even when we can't force it for someone else. We can't change other people, but I can tell you firsthand what happens when someone finds the right tool at the right moment. It's called recovery and it is a beautiful thing!
The way we stay stuck on these issues is by treating the people living through them as OTHER than us. They aren't. We have to get curious about our own beliefs, and about why we so rarely ask the people around us how they're really doing. We have to get curious about why we are more comfortable talking ABOUT someone than WITH them. We have to let our egos sit down so our hearts and guts can stand up, both for the people around us and for ourselves.
I have learned in the industries that I work in, that you have no idea who is going home to an empty house. You have no idea who is getting zero eye contact other than that moment you did and said "Good Morning!". You have no idea that by taking care of yourself and shining your light, you are showing people the path without ever saying a word. You have no idea that you might be the only one who told that person about a resource, and you might never know that they used it that same day.
So, how do we use this month? Read up. Share what you learn with your family and your coworkers, use this themed month as a brilliant excuse to share resources and book a training for yourself and your staff. Here are a few places to start:
- SAMHSA's Recovery Month toolkit and National Recovery Month for what's happening nationally this September.
- SAMHSA's Suicide Prevention Awareness Month toolkit, including 988 Day on September 8th and World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10th. Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, any time.
- If you're in Alaska, Careline Alaska at 877-266-4357, or text 4HELP to 839863. By Alaskans, for Alaskans, and you don't need to be in crisis to use it.
- NextMove Alaska, the state's campaign connecting young adults with mental health and substance use resources.
- Free Mental Health First Aid Class on September 9 (virtual)
Awareness is step one, but we can't be done after sending out some resources and infographics. The real work has to follow. SO many of you are wondering, what is the real work after raising awareness? I'll follow up with you in a couple of weeks to talk about what it really means to move upstream and start making practical, sustainable change.
If two weeks is too long, e-mail me or schedule a free meeting and let's talk about what's next.
Naomi DuCharme | [email protected]
Responses