If you feel in despair and darkness, talk to someone who can understand and help you through. Please CALL 1564 Embrace LifeLine Lebanon.
Today, Lebanon lives very unusual tough times where it is eventuating feelings of despair. But you are not alone, we are not alone, no one is. We are all in this together. Reach out, all the hands of the nation are extended to help. We are leaning on each other to make it through, we are supporting each other, we are lifting each other, and we are even feeding each other, and there are doctors helping for free. And you are one of us. Reach out to your loved ones, to your friend, to your neighbor, to the associations out there on stand by to help you. Call 1564.
Place your hand over your heart. Feel that? It’s called purpose. You’re alive for a reason. ~Joyce Meyer
It is very common knowledge that physical illness, no matter how minor it may be, must be monitored, managed, and dealt with in various ways depending on its severity. Everyone knows that if you feel pain, you should address it early and seek professional medical help, especially if it persists.
If someone, especially a loved one, tells us that they’re in pain, we are quick to address the issue directly and in detail as a first step in the process leading to the treatment of its cause. Paying a visit to the doctor’s office, or the ER in more urgent cases is what we sensibly do when we or our loved ones are feeling unwell.
Here’s an unusual question: Why are we so swift in dealing with such situations? “What a silly question that is,” you might rightfully be thinking. “Because pain is abnormal and it’s basic common sense to address it as soon as it develops to properly treat it.”
Very true. But pain itself is the natural call of our body telling us that something in us went abnormal and is not right; that something is threatening our health and therefore needs to be addressed and tended to.
But people sometimes seem to forget that not all pain is physical; sometimes the mind aches too and, it has been aching nowadays in Lebanon more than usual due to the severe crisis we are living.
When that happens with you or someone close to you, it is no less a priority than that of physical discomfort. It is a mental unwellness, whether temporary or chronic and it is not a taboo to be hidden from people. Just like heartache or a toothache, they are not things to be ashamed of.
Just like physical symptoms need to be addressed quickly in order to be resolved, so do the psychological ones. This is not a brand new study; it was discovered and shared by science over a century ago. If you see the signs as listed below on someone close to you, take immediate action. Call for help. Don’t hesitate. Better safe than sorry. Call 1564.
@embrace_lebanonMany of those who suffer from mental breakdowns tend to keep to themselves and not openly discuss their hurt due to the very irrational stigma that still surrounds mental health in the world today, and more so in our region of the world, including Lebanon.
The ridiculous misconception that mental illness is insignificant, or doesn’t exist at all, is utterly frivolous. It emerges from the ignorance that comes with some old-school paradigms still in existence today, which should have been discarded a long time ago.
If you know of someone feeling in despair and darkness, listen to them properly and Please ring for them 1564 Embrace LifeLine Lebanon.
It’s stupifying that in 2019, we still need to work hard to spread awareness about, and convince people of, the value of mental health!
But for what it’s worth, here, I’ll say it once again for those who are still oblivious or unsure: Mental illness is real. Mental illness is as significant as physical illness; it deteriorates if untreated, and does develop and lead to severe consequences.
Whoever saves one life saves the world entire
There is a responsibility on everyone’s shoulders towards the unwell; to be well again they need all the support they can get. When someone opens up to you and tells you they’re in pain, know that they probably had to push themselves to the limit to say it. Put all your priorities aside, sit down with them, and listen.
Your responsibility, as is mine, is to first recognize and understand that not every smile is an expression of happiness; that those who mentally suffer often do so in silence.
But that is only more harmful to them and counterproductive. It is our duty to identify the fake smiles, which we may very well discover in our own homes, and turn them into real ones. We owe that to our beloved more than we owe them anything else because that special connection we have with them is what distinguishes them from strangers.
That is not to say we do not also owe strangers support though. We are all one community and rely on one another to thrive and progress in this life. We owe others the respect they deserve and the assistance they so desperately need.
“Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness to pull another hand into the light.” ~Norman B. Rice
You also need to understand that, sometimes, something as simple as a sarcastic social media post can have a huge negative impact on another person if it bashes their suffering. The same goes for triggering videos, images, or texts; pain is not a joke.
Talking saves lives
And to those who know how real mental illness is and how negatively impactful it is on daily life because they go through it every day, I say, do not let the ignorance and shallowness of a few toxic individuals stop you from caring for your health; you owe that to yourself.
If you’re in pain, need help, and are afraid to speak up, you must know that there are so many people out there who would love to be by your side and assist your recovery. When you suffer from a mental illness, it may feel hopeless but no, it never is. Talk about it, and you will see how much easier it will get for you.
You, my friend, are a life, and not a thing in the entire world is worth more than you are and this is a fact. In the words of the late Stephen Hawking: “However difficult life may seem… While there is life, there is hope.”
So do not ever believe the lie that you are a hopeless case; life is what makes the world move and you, as is every single life, are priceless.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. ~Max Ehrmann
Four digits 1564 will change your life (or the life of a loved one). Call the number of EmbraceLife, no questions asked, and let everything out once and for all. They do care about you and they will do everything they can to lift you up.
They know what they’re doing and they understand your suffering like no one else because they’ve listened to and helped many others who were in pain before you. Some of them will tell you that they had once suffered from mental illness as you do, and that talking about it has saved them.
The person on the other side of the line is eagerly awaiting your call, anticipating your number on their screen and your voice through their speaker. So don’t tell yourself you’ll do it later; now is the time to feel better.
If you feel in despair and darkness, talk to someone who can understand and help you through. Please CALL 1564 Embrace LifeLine Lebanon.
We will prevail through this harsh period; together we will and together we are fighting through. Don’t give up. There is plenty of help around, and plenty of initiatives actively helping, for Lebanon is a formidable nation of people who strongly care for each other and for the country we intend to save.
