This Wasn't the Plan — But Mental Health Needs to Be Talked About

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⚠️ Trigger Warning: Suicide, Depression, and Mental Health

This post contains open and personal discussion about suicide, depression, and mental health struggles — including suicidal ideation and past attempts. If you're in a vulnerable place today or these topics are difficult for you to engage with, please take care of yourself however you need to.You can always come back to this when you're ready — or not at all.Your well-being comes first. 💛

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact the📞 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — text or call anytime, 24/7🌐 988lifeline.org

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Sorry, friends — we’re pivoting.

I had a whole post planned for today — another one in the menopause series — but something happened on Friday that hit me hard, and I just can’t move forward without acknowledging it.

A former coworker of mine died by suicide.

Details and names don’t matter. What matters is this: As I sat with the news, I kept thinking about how little we really know about each other. How often we only see the version of someone they let us see. And how often is that version hiding a whole storm inside?

Then I thought about the people I do know — the ones who’ve pulled back the curtain and shown me the side they keep hidden from most of the world. People who’ve whispered their fears, their suicidal thoughts, their close calls. People who’ve said, “I almost didn’t make it.”

And yeah, I’m one of them, too. I’ve been there. More than once.

I don’t share this because I want sympathy or attention. I share it because we need to stop pretending that looking fine = being fine.

Me during some of my darkest days - is that a face you would associate with someone contemplating suicide?

And I swear — if I hear one more person say,

“They had such a great life!”

“Why would they do that?”

“I never saw it coming…”

—I might scream.

Let me break the news, as gently as I can, and from my own experience: The people closest to the edge usually don’t want you to know. They’ve spent years learning how to hide it because the stigma is still very, very real.

And don’t just take my word for it — the numbers say it louder than I ever could:

• Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S., and the 2nd leading cause among adults aged 25–44 (CDC, 2023).

• Women are 3x more likely to attempt suicide, while men are 4x more likely to die from it, due to the lethality of methods used (NIMH, 2023).

• Perhaps most shocking: Over 54% of people who die by suicide have no documented mental health diagnosis (CDC Vital Signs, 2018).→ Translation: You may never know who’s struggling — until it’s too late.

Sobering statistics from the CDC reveal that over 49,000 people died by suicide in 2023, with one death occurring every 11 minutes. Additionally, 12.8 million adults seriously contemplated suicide, 3.7 million made a plan, and 1.5 million attempted it.

So yeah, we’re pressing pause on the original agenda for this week. Because well, when God throws a brick at me and says I need you to do this... I tend to listen. And I feel the call from the big man upstairs to share my story in hopes that maybe one person will read this and get help before its too late. Or maybe one person will read this and remember the next time they are talking to someone, that they may not understand the pain that person is wrestling with inside.

And also, because REAL wellness? It's holistic, it's not just supplements and food. It includes not dying. Includes staying. Includes reaching out when the only thing you want to do is disappear.

This week is about:

🧠 Mental health.

💔 Depression.

🌫️ The dark nights no one sees.

🔥 And how we survive them.

I’ll be back Wednesday to share my own story — unfiltered. Until then, here’s what I need you to know:

You don’t need to be at rock bottom to ask for help. You don’t need a diagnosis to be worthy of support. You don’t have to prove your pain to be believed. You’re not weak. You’re not broken. And you are not alone.

📣 If You’re in Crisis:

📞 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Text or call 988 — Available 24/7, free and confidential🌐 https://988lifeline.org

Your life is worth fighting for.

Even on the days you don’t believe that yourself.

And the words I needed to hear, the words that haunt me to this day..... I LOVE YOU! I may not know you but I love you because you my friend, you are made by a mighty creator, in HIS image and from HIS love. AND YOU ARE PERFECT JUST AS YOU ARE!!

All my love,

Regina