So, I was working diligently and took my hourly peek at eMail. Where I found this particular message.

So disconcerting. Another person with survivor’s guilt, with PTSD. Taking (this time) his life. This medical professional from Connecticut, even as he was working to help others who have experienced trauma at the hands of violent and aggressive folks, simply and traumatically ended his life.

Completed suicides are increasing- from about 29K at the dawn of the new century to some 47K now.  (No one seems to track attempted suicides, just the results when these folks manage to kill themselves.)

I thought back (as I responded) to my friend and employee, Mohammed Saadoui. (And, to my son’s friend, Mickey.) Mohammed had driven one of my cars over a cliff. An event he survived. And, when I questioned him about it, he reminded me he wasn’t a great driver and the road was very curvy. (It was on the Shenandoah Mountain trail.)

Had I been wiser, I might have asked – and been insistent about it- as to what the heck he was doing there, if he couldn’t drive well. Instead, we joked (I was there with my COO) and said he needs to cross that route off his list, unless he’s the passenger.

Except a month later, he didn’t show up to work. And, we found him hanging from his shower.

We had known that Mohammed was being hunted by the Algerian secret police; we were working with an attorney to help him obtain asylum. (Mohammed had a valid visa when we hired him; we didn’t realize his visa wasn’t for 10 years, but only for three.)

To save himself from the fate that awaited him in Algeria, he chose this option. It was devastating to us- all of us- that knew him, that worked with him.

So, hearing about Dr. Jeremy Richman (the Connecticut dad), Sydney Aiello and an another (anonymous) Parkland student, brought back those thoughts. How tragic, how the perpetrators of violence (who should be routinely termed terrorists) manage to create hurt that resounds and rebounds in his victims’ lives.

But, I was still turning things over.   Years ago, a young person told a friend about their suicidal thoughts.  And, they were able to provide more than a few methods to accomplish the dastardly deed. Not sure if the person were serious or not, an immediate alert was provided the principal of the private school they both attended.

Thankfully, the principal (also a member of the clergy) took immediate action- inviting the child to spend weekends at his family home, involving the person in events, etc.  And, whether the child was serious or not made no difference- the child never acted on those suicidal thoughts.

That is the situation to which we must repond.  You, me, and everyone else- have to be there for folks who may be contemplating suicide.

And, it’s not our job to discern how serious someone’s intentions may be. It’s our job to react, to be there for that person. To help that person seek out help.

We also must realize that this is not a one time or one month event.  Those who have been traumatized don’t rebound in a week or a month.  (I still have flashbacks when I hear about plane crashes.)

As a matter of fact, the second year- when folks think the trauma is no longer evident in one’s soul, may be the worst.  We need to help these folks develop coping strategies.

Let’s stop suicide.

(And, I am NOT talking about those who have reached the end of their life as they know it- being attacked to breathing machines, unable to walk or talk, who are desperately seeking to end their lives with grace and honor.)