If You Knew...

If you knew that the person you were talking to, was a mere step away from pulling the trigger that ended their life... would you talk to them differently?

Would you still roll your eyes at them? Talk down to them? Treat them with more disrespect or would you make a concerted effort to speak to them with kindness, even if the words that you have to say are constructive criticism?

Would you ask the person whose smile doesn't quite reach their eyes if they are alright? Would you tell them that they were doing a great job or that you enjoyed their presence? Or would you brush past them quickly as you went to make your cup of coffee, ignoring them in the middle of their sentence?

Would you be quick to dismiss them when they tell you that they are having a rough day because you aren't supposed to "fraternize?" Or would you throw caution to the wind and ask them to tell you what was rough about their day and if there was anything you could do to help?

Sometimes, I see the better world that I wish it would be. I see it in the disrespectful words that I could change so easily or the haughty tone that I could transform into one of encouragement. I feel that pat on the shoulder, something so small that signifies a unity between persons. And it is a very sad world indeed that that isn't the one that we live in.

Today, it is socially acceptable to treat coworkers like they are nothing more than the gum between the cracks of your shoe. You are told over and over again to "work it out amongst yourselves." But this doesn't leave room for the people that are already working it out amongst themselves on a daily basis in the form of severe depression. There are some things that even all the Prozac and Lithium in the world can't contest. When you feel that the entire world is against you, that you can't even enjoy the career that you've chosen for yourself, or that every single step of the way is barred by unnecessary boundaries... it makes it even easier for us to give up.

Now, I'm not saying that if someone with depression were to commit suicide that it is somehow your fault. It's not. It is a decision that can only be made by them and ONLY them. But I will tell you this... there are days when I am struggling immensely in my own head and my heart is aching, that a concerted effort on someone else's part to speak to me with respect and dignity and god forbid, kindness... would make it less likely for me to fall into that blissful darkness. It would make me less likely to actually get around to pulling that trigger. It would give me the strength to fight one more day.

Just some food for thought.