Ep16 - Surviving Being Suicidal
If you listened to our last episode with Pippa, you’ll know that this month we’re opening up the conversation around suicide and hearing from people with firsthand experiences of it; whether they’ve lost someone to suicide or have considered suicide themselves.
In this episode we’re hearing from Joshua, a young guy from New Zealand who suffered depression as a teen and came to the point of wanting to end his life. Joshua shares vulnerably with us about his thoughts at the time, including walking us through what was meant to be his ‘final day’ and sharing about the letter he wrote to farewell friends and family.
Through it all, Joshua’s story is one of hope. Thanks to a somewhat miraculous intervention, Joshua is still with us today and is transparent about his grappling with God and his mental health since that day. We’re grateful for his story, and grateful that he is around to share it. Since that dark period, Joshua has been able to rebuild a foundation on God’s Word, and it’s something we can all learn from.
We hope that Joshua’s story will not only help those of us who have considered suicide to feel less alone, but also equip us all to better understand and spot the signs that someone we know might be at risk.
If you have questions about suicide or want to explore this topic more, we have a new page of Suicide Resources that will help you unpack the main theological thoughts on suicide, look at where we see it in the Bible, hear from others who have lost someone to suicide or attempted themselves, and learn how to help those who might be struggling. On our blog you can also read 6 Ways to Support Someone Struggling With Suicidal Ideation and How to Create a Suicide Safety Plan.
If this episode is troubling for you, please reach out to someone; whether that’s a family member, trusted friend, your pastor, doctor or psychologist, or you can visit our Helplines page for a list of organisations you can call.
Anxious Faith is a production of Our Daily Bread Ministries Australia. The work we do is funded entirely by the generosity of people like you who give what they can so that we can continue to create these resources to help people deepen their faith. If you’d like to support the work we’re doing here at Anxious Faith, please visit our donate page.
