Another Door: Recovery and World Suicide Prevention Day

September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day. This year's call to action is simple and powerful:

Start the Conversation.

The idea is to move away from a culture of silence, shame, and stigma and toward one of openness, empathy, and active support. That means encouraging honest conversations about suicide and mental health, making it safer for people to ask for help, and strengthening the systems and communities that are there to support them.

Bruce S., in NY, a member of LifeRing’s Outreach Committee, said, “I don't come to this subject with a personal story about suicide. I come to it through the recovery community. And from that perspective, the connection is difficult to ignore.”

People struggling with alcohol and other drugs can also be struggling with isolation, damaged relationships, fear, depression, shame, financial problems, or a growing sense that their lives have become unmanageable. Substance use itself is recognized as a risk factor for suicide, and alcohol and drugs can further impair judgment and increase impulsive behavior.

And perhaps that gives us another way to think about suicide prevention:

Make sure there is always another door.

Recovery Doesn't Have Just One Door

For generations, Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs have provided recovery and fellowship for millions of people. For many, that pathway works extraordinarily well.

For others, it doesn't.

Fortunately, the recovery world is much larger today. Professional treatment, counseling, medication-assisted treatment, peer recovery programs, LifeRing Secular Recovery, SMART Recovery, Recovery Dharma, and many other approaches offer different ways of addressing alcohol and substance-use problems.

That variety matters.

A person who walks into one recovery program and doesn't feel that it fits should never come away believing, Recovery isn't for me.

The better message is:

Maybe that particular approach wasn't for you. Let's try another door.♥

LifeRing is one of those doors.

LifeRing Secular Recovery is an abstinence-based, peer-to-peer recovery organization built around Sobriety, Secularity, and Self-Empowerment. Rather than prescribing a single recovery formula, LifeRing encourages each person to develop a recovery program that works for them, drawing on their own strengths and the experiences of others.

Our online and in-person meetings provide something else that can be especially important when someone is struggling:

human connection.

People talk. People listen. People share what worked, what didn't, what frightened them, what challenged them this week, and what helped them stay sober today.

Nobody has to have all the answers.

Sometimes showing up is enough for that day.

Starting the Conversation

One of the most important ideas behind World Suicide Prevention Day is that silence does not protect people.

Starting a conversation can.

We should not be afraid to ask someone who appears to be in serious emotional pain how they are doing. And when there is reason for concern, it is appropriate to ask directly whether they are thinking about suicide.

Talking openly about suicide does not create suicidal thoughts. Instead, a compassionate conversation can give someone permission to say what they have been afraid to say.

That principle should sound familiar to anyone in recovery.

Both addiction and suicide have long carried stigma. Both can grow in secrecy. Both can convince a suffering person that nobody else could possibly understand what they are experiencing.

Recovery communities challenge that isolation every day.

Someone says, This is what happened to me.

Someone else says, Me too.

And suddenly a problem that felt unbearably private is being shared with another human being.

Starting the conversation also means more than one person reaching out to another. It means communities creating environments where asking for help is safe and normal.

Know Where Immediate Help Is Available

If you or someone you know is in suicidal crisis or needs immediate emotional support in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Trained crisis counselors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If there is immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

LifeRing also maintains suicide-prevention information and links to organizations including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the National Institute of Mental Health, and other resources.

For people whose alcohol or drug use is part of the struggle, there are also many routes into recovery. LifeRing meetings are available online and in person, and professional treatment providers and other peer-recovery organizations offer additional treatment and support.

The important thing is not which door someone uses.

It is that they know another door exists.

Supporting LifeRing this Recovery Month powers Outreach and Visibility to reach individuals still searching for secular alternatives with your one-time and monthly donations.

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LifeRing graciously thanks content contributor Bruce S. in NY for creating this information.