50 Ways To Reach Out to Someone Without Asking "How Are You?"

Arisha Faiyas

With a week left until September ends, we want to help our readers reach out to their dear ones in honor of National Suicide Prevention Month. We have compiled a list of 50 small but easy-to-do actions that can remind them that they are loved, cared for and not alone in their struggles.

Life can be overwhelming a lot of times and with the string of traumatic events that is 2020, it is needless to say that it has been tough for all of us. National Suicide Prevention Month reminds us every year to seek out the people we care for before it is too late. Isolation and quarantine means that not only is it harder than ever to reach out to people in crises but also to pick on when our close ones are in distress. Often, some seemingly trivial steps can be all it takes to connect with people more. Our words and actions have huge impacts on people and when used the right way, we can literally save lives.

Many suicide attempts are planned for a long time. This means that there are people in our lives right now who may be actively thinking about ending their lives. Mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia etc. make it especially hard to see other, much better solutions that suicide. Sufferers can forget that they are important to the people around them and can have trouble recollecting meaningful memories. Hesitating to ask for help in fear of being a burden to others makes it worse for them, as they are left to deal with their irrational thoughts alone.

The following list makes it easier to take care of those suicidal people in our lives. A small compliment, a token of love, expression of gratitude, nostalgia trips and reminders that we care; they can do wonders in helping them fight their destructive thoughts and give them the strength to carry on. We hope these small attempts can stop a life from ending too soon and form meaningful connections where loneliness used to be. And we hope someone takes a moment of their day to be be there for someone in need.

Idea inspired by @realdepressionproject