Thread by @Its_Katka

Hello. I'm someone living with depression and there have been times where I've just wanted to end it all, to disappear, to make it stop. Here's what I want you to do instead of posting #suicide hotline numbers:

Lobby for better healthcare conditions in America. Call your representatives and ask them to support affordable and easy access to mental healthcare treatment. Stop thinking emotional people are 'weak.' Help suicide prevention volunteers get paid for helping people stay alive.

The healthcare crisis in America impacts people with mental health issues. Medicine, therapists and wellness programs are expensive without healthcare. We can't afford treatment. We don't have access to the needs and conditions that can truly help prevent suicide.

Most people who have thought about killing themselves don’t really want to die. We just want to “make it stop.” But it takes a lot, so much more than people really know. We’re exhausted because of all the obstacles standing in our way.

There are times when I want to help myself, but feel like it’s impossible. Like when my therapist is booked and going out-of-network costs $300 a session. Or if my healthcare covers some drugs, but not the ones my body responds to the best. Another $150 just to stay grounded.

Even with proper access, mental health is incredibly stigmatized. The reason you don't know people who are suffering is because society makes pariahs out of us. Don't cry, be strong. Don't kill yourself, here's a number, just call it. Wait, you're still sad? Get over it.

When you're depressed, the last thing you want to do is talk to someone about being depressed. Picking up the phone and dialing a stranger can be an overwhelming, incredibly difficult task for us. We might feel a little better after, but it's only one part of a bigger solution.

So anyway, here's are some mental health organizations you can donate your time or money to that can really help make the life of someone you know better: google.com/search?q=menta…