"I'd Rather Kill Myself"

Alyson here! We as the Desert Daisies try to keep this a blog full of hope and uplifting messages, but tonight I want to focus on something a little more serious.

As teenagers/young people, we tend to exaggerate. Like, A LOT. We also like to use slang language and phrases that could be offensive such as:

"That's so gay."

"You're retarded."

You know, that kind of stuff.

The phrase I want to talk about is:

 

"I would rather kill myself."

 

I'm pretty sure we've all used this one.

"I have to go sit through a 3 hour math class." "Ugh. I would rather kill myself."

"I would rather kill myself than go on this date."

I could go on and on.

 

The reason I want to bring people's attention to this phrase is because I want to bring back the seriousness of the phrase.

 

According to WebMD, a sign of possible suicide is "talking about ... killing one's self". How are we supposed to know the real from the fake when everyone is talking about it? As a joke?

In every case of a suicide, people are always asking themselves "what could I have done? how did I not see the warning signs?" I think that people are asking these questions because warning signs that used to be so serious are now a part of our everyday language. Let's change the conversation.

 

"I have to go sit through a 3 hour math class." "Ugh. I would rather run full force into a brick wall."

"I would rather chew my own leg off than go on this date."

 

Hope you all had a fantastic holiday :)

 

Source: http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-recognizing-signs-of-suicide

"Let Me Know If I can Help" Is Never Enough

Being a part of a religious community where service is so highly emphasized, it seems as if people around me are constantly wanting to serve and help others. As great as it is that my neighbors and friends want to serve, I'm sure you'd agree with me in saying that it is all too often we hear the phrase: "Let me know if I can help." 

Now picture yourself struggling with depression. Your mind is emotionally in a horrible place as you are feeing things that do not make any sense to you. Do you really think you will take this offer to heart? More than likely, you will do no such thing.

I understand that this phrase is more often than not expressed in a genuine manner; however, it is not enough to simply offer help, especially in the case of a depressed person. 

In a session of the April 2012 General Conference, Elder Rasband stated, "If you come upon a person who is drowning, would you ask if they need help—or would it be better to just jump in and save them from the deepening waters? The offer, while well meaning and often given, “Let me know if I can help” is really no help at all."

How often did Christ turn to the blind, deaf or naked and simply say, 

"Well, let me know if I can help,"?

Christ always took action. 

He saw someone in need and He immediately came to their rescue. 

Those who suffer from depression are not exempt from this whatsoever. In fact depression sufferers may be the ones who need active assistance the very most.

A depressed person never wants to hear, "If you need help let me know." Of course they need help! But what can a person like you offer to them? In their mind, you are simply using a cop-out because the situation is too hard to deal with. Our society as a whole is extremely ill-informed on how to deal with depression. So it is no wonder that at the first thought of someone needing emotional help we cling to any excuse we can to flea the situation!

However, we can change this!! I LOVED reading this article from LDS Living,

  "Nine Things You Shouldn't Say to a Depressed Loved One (and what to say instead)." 

Juliet Miller perfectly addresses many issues that depressed people face when in need of help. (You can find her blog here.) This is a MUST read! Even if you don't know anyone who is currently suffering from depression, odds are you either will meet someone at some point who is suffering from this disease or someone you already know suffers and you have no idea.

This week may we take on the challenge to be more Christ-like as we strive to do away with the phrase, "let know if I can help" and instead let our actions speak for themselves as we serve others without having to be told what needs to be done.

Hope you have a wonderful week!

{Hannah}

When Discouragement Sets In...

Do you ever feel like this? 

Like your mind is doing 2,857 things at once? 

One of the crazy things about women that I don't think men will ever be able to truly fathom is our ability to constantly be doing a million different things. We can miraculously be typing on the computer, while planning meals for the next week while listening for the laundry to be done while talking on the phone, while "Pinterest"ing, while eating lunch.

I realize that not all of you are juggling these things specifically but if you're a woman then you know exactly what I'm referring to. 

Often times I have felt discouraged by the insane amount of things I feel that I need to be doing. 

There are so many things in the Gospel that I feel I  can work on: 

being kinder, serving more, reading scriptures with better purpose, the list goes on and on. 

It's no wonder that so many women find themselves in a stupor of depression. With so many things we can be doing better and fixing, it makes perfect sense for women to get lost in feelings of inadequacy. 

I have definitely had my fair share of struggles with these feelings of being overwhelmed with so many things I could be doing better. This became especially difficult during my long run with depression. 

I always felt there were so many things I needed to change and do better in my life that I just didn't even know where to start! 

'This is where I learned to FOCUS. I learned to close the 2,856 tabs in my brain and just keep ONE open that I could give my full attention. After putting this into practice, I realized that I could accomplish so many things! 

Now there are definitely times when more than one tab simply HAS to be open as we are all obligated to be doing many different things; however, I learned that when I could focus on just one thing to do better, I witnessed incredible results. 

Every week I make a list of three little goals. They are never anything monumental or unrealistic. ("Don't eat sugar all week long," yeah that's just not going to happen.)

They are always just some simple tiny things I could do better! So here they are: my small and simple goals for the week.

Goals

1. Go to the temple. Just once. Totally doable!

2. Read at least one chapter of the Book of Mormon this week. 

3. Exercise at least four times. 

What are your goals for the week? 

The intention is to focus on just a couple of tabs a day and finally give these goals the undivided attention they deserve. 

Hope you have a wonderful spring Sunday! 

{Hannah}