You juT never what someone is feeling. What someone is going through. A smile doesn’t always determine happiness. It could simply be a fabrication of the truth. That’s why it’s so important for us, as people, to looker deeper. Pay attention to body language. In this era, pay attention to social media postings. If you look close enough you may be about to see a cry for help.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death for college aged youth and ages 12-18.
Erica Marks, of the Anti-Suicide Prevention Campaign- Detroit, let us into her world, by sharing a little of her story with us. With her arrogant persona, she hid what was haunting her on the inside. Her outward confidence was the opposite of what she was really feeling, like damaged goods. You can just read her powerful story for yourself…
Looks can be deceiving. Here I am preparing to celebrate my birthday standing here with a shirt that says LOVE when the truth is I had no love for myself and seeked approval in others. I was sexually molested by someone at a very young age. Because of that I spent my childhood and some of my adulthood feeling like damaged goods. You could never tell because I used arrogance as a shield. I pretended to have it together. I went to church, participated but was spiritually dying. I thought because I was damaged on the inside God could never fully love me.
Satan had a strong hold over my life. I became consumed with thoughts of Death and I finally decided to swallow a handful of pills and laid in bed anticipating never waking up. God begin to speak to me and I made myself get up and throw the pills up. Thankfully, as I prayed that night nothing happened. I can’t lie and say life instantly got better after that night. However, I will say it got easier knowing God was beside me the whole time.
This is why I’m working so hard for this Detroit division to show someone a way out of the Darkness.