Thanks Ruaphu, I can only agree. It isa a start.

Cheers, SB

 

A fellow rider I saw mostly on weekends , Reggie of Chapter 13 Club is lying in the terminal cancer ward - oesophageal and into the lymph nodes, so he doesn't have more than a week at best. A month ago we were laughing and joking, sitting on the bikes at the shop.
Prayers for Reggie(mental) would help him on his way. It's the only hope he has.......

And Seb - I'm OK thanks for asking.

 

Tough break Pete to watch someone close go. Most of us have a story somewhere along the way. Unfortunately in our culture you're not a man if you need to talk about stuff. Personally that's a load of .... Over here it's suicide awareness week. Got bailed up by a group outside the UNI where they had free fairy floss (cotton candy) & handouts. I said to the bloke that I'd been exposed previously & the look on his face was total shock. He had no idea how to handle the issue. I suppose at least he's getting the word out that it's happening & it's ok to talk.

 

Very strangely, here in NZ twice as many people take their own lives every year as die on the roads.

But do we see a constant barrage of TV ads telling us that hanging ourselves is socially unacceptable to match the endless ads warning of drunk driving, speeding, cell phone use and now most recently, eating while driving??

No, no we don't. And I've never been quite able to figure out why that is.

Maybe we're just pretending if we don't mention it, it will go away.

Go figure.

 

It's all political. It's like any mental health issues. If it's not physically visible like a disease then it doesn't exist. Here in South Australia we have the best mental health laws & services in the country. When my ex became unstable (Extreme) there was no way I was able to get any help for her. Even the police were totally powerless unless she was endangering herself or others. I know. I tried every agency I could find & drew a blank every time. Why??? It's because she's over 18 & unless she presented herself for treatment there was nothing anyone else can do. They say it's morals. Who is any one else to say you are mentally unstable. Not bad when all you want is to get the mother of one of your children the help she needs.

 

Thanks for the kind words guys....
I think what's causing all this depression for my wife is 3 things.
1) she's had a lifetime's worth of bad luck within the past almost year.
2) she doesn't see any light at the end of the tunnel.
3) she feels guilty that I have to stay home and take care of her.
I can't really argue with #1. I constantly remind her how far she's come, so there is some light beginning to show at the end of this tunnel. Last but not least, I don't mind one bit about taking care of her. It goes with the territory....

For my personal feelings about suicide..... I could never do it. As rotten as life may seem, there is always somebody who's a lot worse off and getting by. I see suicide as an easy way out and am the type of person that would never put my loved ones through that hell.

Take care all