Hope in Uncertain Times

In all my life, I have never had a personal experience with suicide…until last week. A dear patron that was a frequent visitor at my branch committed suicide. After the initial shock, I reflected on the two times I had interacted with the patron in the previous week. Should I have noticed something different? But reflection offered no clarity. The two times were like the hundreds of times before over the last 10 years, nothing out of the ordinary. It got me to thinking about how we keep our deepest thoughts and feelings buried many times and do not seek help or advice when we are in a not-so-good period of life, many times painting a perfect picture to the world and our friends.

The last five months have been tough on us all. It is not surprising that many are concerned. There has always been uncertainty, but it seems like today there is more uncertainty than most of us have ever experienced in our lifetime. Normally, we post to our blog about novels or events or other entertaining items, but today I want you to know we have resources if you are struggling in any way. Before I began writing this, I searched our card catalog and Freading for books we have available. An obvious subject search is “depression” or "grief," but I also found a tremendous number of resources by putting “hope” and “happiness” in the subject search. In Freading, I found by putting “hope” in the search box, it was possible to narrow the results by clicking on “self-help” or “health & fitness” to filter the results. There are a wide variety of printed resources available through our library system.

To those struggling, talk about it with someone. Sometimes just vocalizing our thoughts to someone helps, and we may find our struggle is their struggle, too. To those that know someone struggling, listen and be patient; don’t judge, criticize, or minimize their pain.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has some excellent information. Below is a link to an article on their website about emotional well-being during the COVID-19 crisis. There is information about coping during community unrest, depression, and numerous other topics.

Supporting Your Emotional Well-Being During the COVIID-19 Outbreak

We are not alone. We are all in this together. Let’s help each other. I will remain HOPEFUL.