Brothers and
sisters,
This is about a sad story of a woman who killed herself. She set herself on
fire to protest against discrimination in Europe.
Why did she do it? Why go that far? Won’t she have to answer to her creator for
taking matters into her own hands by taking her own life?
The answers to the questions cannot come easily to anyone who was not in her
shoes but we can only speculate. My lay person’s opinion is that most people
who commit suicide, do not do it out of self hate. They do it out of hopelessness
and overwhelming push to eliminate a problem the best way possible to them at
the time. The justification for suicide may not be reasonable to those who hear
of it but makes sense to the one suffering of psychological malfunctioning of
their brain. Another reason for depression and the effects of it, is a push
into temptation and evil which leads to future disasters. In light of the
societal norm all over the world, it is wrong to take one’s life no matter
which we look at it. This is one of the works of satan. It can also have been
the result of an un-address case of chronic depression. I will address both
here.
Depression and brain damage could be resultant of a brain tumor, trauma, family
heredity, life changes or lack of it (dormancy), malnutrition causing cell
death, badly treated meningitis (chronic infection of the brain and spinal
cord), and bombardment with incorrect religious information (any religious
information contrary to the teachings of Christ).
Suicide attempt is not a sudden decision. Most times, it is a result of
depression. Africans and people from most developing countries hardly discuss
depression nor deal with it because we believe there is no such thing and there
is so much to do in order not to fall into it. Many believe it is a white man’s
illness.
In Nigeria,
many family members come together, sit, and deliberate over problems of a
relative, and help the best way they can. Overseas residence, often deprive us
of this privilege. There is no doubt that the chances of becoming depressed is
heightened by the fact that everyone is minding their business, and telling a
group of people about your problem is somewhat a taboo overseas. Hence the
psychotherapists, psychologists, behavioral health practitioners, and
psychiatrist have thriving counseling businesses and people spend years in
college, up to Ph.D. level studying mental problems and ways to combat them.
The flip side of mental problem solving in Africa is that if one waits too long
to complain to relatives (especially for the introverts), the problem may
escalate beyond repair and may actually lead to psychotic behaviors that may
trigger people to stone the individual victim to death, banish them out of
town, consider them mad and send them packing from their homes into homelessness
until they die on the street, or be thrown out by their ignorant (of the
treatable mental problems) spouses. Depression can lead to more erratic
behaviors.
Real doctors or physicians are trained to watch for these behaviors in their
patients and recommend help before it escalates. A lot of companies and
corporations have emergency mental health help lines set up to help their
employees in times of need. Any kind of trauma can trigger psychosis. It could
range from the death of a family member, abortion of a planned or unplanned
pregnancy that creates everlasting regret, accident in which someone died or
was badly injured, any head injury, loss of property, news of fire approaching
ones home and pursuing evacuation, victim of flood that destroys property or
life, being fired from a loved employment, being laid off from an important
post, position, job, and dismissal of the particular individual or spouse from
the only source of income, loss of a company to bankruptcy, blatant
discrimination for any reason, death of a child at birth, death of a child in
the womb before delivery, failure at a life changing project, recovery from
heart disease, stroke, or cancer and loss of or loss of use of a body part (for
women, it could be their hair, breast, or womb and for men, it could be loss of
their libido, hair, sight, and/or any extremity), and for both sexes, divorce.
Some people recognize the onset of the problem but if they do not understand
it, may write it off as a temporary problem.
In extreme cases, suicide is contemplated and played over and over in the head
of the psychotic as being the right thing to do. For some others, it could be
other things like throwing one’s child out the window. For previously abused
young men and women, they may think they are homosexuals or bisexuals or gay
and some may consider something as drastic as a sex change operation. Some
others will consider themselves cursed and just sneak around and have sex in
every corner of the neighborhood or seek out prostitutes or become one
depending on their socio-economic disposition. Some claim they are coming out
of the closet for the first, second or third time depending on when their brain
neurons decide to misfire. A few have actually decided that they are queen and
kings, live as such getting themselves into very severe debt situations with
credit cards massed out to their ears. Some may occasionally want to run a red
light; may decide to buy or build another house on borrowed money or your
savings even though they know it is un-affordable for them. Unfortunately, they
are faced with financial problems when they start their healing process but
those who are incapable and/or unwilling to pay the loans back, commit suicide
to get rid of the problem permanently. Most times, their seeming solution is
not permanent as they leave their spouses with their generated debt. Some
develop multiple personalities to help them tackle the problems. The devil
tells them that that is a way to deal with it and as long as they believe it,
that people, their family members and the public will understand and leave them
alone. What it does not disclose to them are new problems that can emerge from
being labeled crazy. If people do not know which alter ego they are talking to,
they may chose not to talk to you at all. Some take to self mutilation. The
worst behavior is a subtle, seemingly un-harmful, sudden craving for alcohol
consumption. If one yields, it often increases leading to one’s worst
nightmare..a liver, kidney or heart failure; just as the devil wanted it in the
first place. Some take to drug use followed by drug abuse which is deadly.
Other obsessive behaviors may emerge that may surprise the sufferer or others
around them. Unfortunately, there are devil’s incarnates, ready, willing and
waiting to help you immerse oneself further downhill in whatever destructive
path is chosen. It has killed directly or indirectly Norma Jean, Nicole Smith
and her son, Bob Marley, Elvis, nearly killed Whitney Houston, Christina
Aguilar, Nicole Richie’s daughter, Michael Jackson, and many others.
The symptoms of depression come into existence long before it results in
suicide. The sufferer is the first to notice the unexplained mood swings, inane
behavior, incessant repetitive words and thoughts or ideas about how to correct
the situation, most seeming accurate to the hearer, the victim who later
becomes the listener and perpetrator, may decide to seek help or to deal with
it themselves lest people think they are crazy. Unfortunately, without
spiritual, medical or psychological intervention, other avenues must be sought
to resolve the impending doom. The sufferer need first admit there is a
problem.
On the other hand, if you stay far away from God (not abide in Him), He will
stay away from you (He will not abide in you).
The best way is to seek (look for) God, through His son Jesus, ask of Jesus,
and find (discover) Jesus and speak to Jesus about this thing happening to you
that you quite don’t understand and can’t get a grip of. The solution may not
come overnight but it will surely come in time. God does not delay, He is never
late, and He always answers our calls; even that of a sinner. God, the greatest
physician, will provide you heightened senses to hear him tell you where to go
to get help. Start by finding a church near your home that has open doors for
prolonged hours, going there to spend time, 1-3 hours at a time, every week at
adoration (sitting silently at church alone or with others and listening for
Him); Kneeling, sitting, reading as you feel, and during those times asking him
for help. Sacrifice your TV viewing times by fasting and going to God to
present your problems.
Start volunteering your time to clean the church. Those who work for God, get
help from the Lord. Start participating in ministry. Ask your priest or pastor
how you can be of help and find time to do the work you have agreed to do.
Start giving more alms regularly and fight the devil who is at work full time
trying to destroy your precious life. Read the Bible, pray without seizing, and
give thanks to God, always.
Read 1 Chronicles 5:20, 22.
For during the battle (struggles), they called on God, and He heard them
because they had put their trust in Him…for victory is from God.
Tobit 4, 5-12, 13
Through all your days, keep the Lord in mind, and suppress every desire to sin
or to break his commandments. Perform good works all the days of your life, and
do not tread the paths of wrongdoing. For if you are steadfast in your
service, your good works will bring success, not only to you, but also to all
those who live uprightly. Give alms from you possession. Do not turn your face
away from the poor, and God’s face will not be turned away from you. Give alms
in proportion to what you own. If you have great wealth, give alms out of your
abundance; if you have but little, distribute even some of that. But do not
hesitate to give alms; you will be storing up a goodly treasure for yourself
against the day of adversity. Alms-giving frees one from death, and keeps one
from going into the dark abode. Alms are a worthy offering in the sight of the
Most High for all who give them. Be on your guard for every form of
immorality…do not be proud hearted, for in that, there is decay and dire
poverty, for worthlessness is the mother of famine.
Do not think you are worthless, hopeless, an unforgivable sinner, and unloved
by people or God. If no one loves you, God does; greatly.
God bless you. Now, go, do the right thing and be yourself before the illness
or better; again.
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