Lack of confidence kills

I know the title sounds dark and grim but welcome to reality. If you’re curious like me, you’ve often wondered why people commit suicide? There are various reasons why they put themselves and their loved ones through this kind of pain but the core of all of it is that they “Gave up”. The feeling of giving up stems from losing all confidence, whether to do something or to face something.

While I’m no medical expert to speculate the specific details of psychological damage in people but I’m qualified + experienced enough to talk about confidence and how the lack of it makes people feel. Confidence is the main ingredient of the recipe to prepare self-love and if you don’t love yourself enough, you’ll always look for external validation to make you feel good.

Whenever I hear about suicides (recently, about Kailia Posey, one of my favourite girls whose GIF action I imitate to this day), I wonder what goes on in the mind of the person who has lost the will to look forward to better things in life, who has lost the will to face life. It’s heartbreaking to think about a beautiful life bidding adieu to the world in this manner. How crushed is their self-esteem and confidence? I feel sad and can’t help but wonder if there’s a way we can prevent it even before it reaches that stage.

I believe it is preventable to a large extent if the causes are related to self-esteem and confidence. We all talk about noticing the signs but let’s create an environment where the signs never even appear. How do we do that?

  1. Start building confidence in children at an early age.
  2. Look for signs of low confidence.
  3. Check on people you haven’t spoken to in a long time.
  4. If you know someone who is procrastinating on everyday tasks and avoiding simple tasks like combing hair, going to work or even getting out of bed, its a red flag that points towards low confidence and depression. Don’t scold or belittle the person, instead offer help and direct them to a therapist.
  5. Encourage yourself and your loved ones to follow their passions and hobbies. Doing something you love and something you know how to do well can make you feel good about yourself, thus boosting your confidence levels.
  6. Make people around you comfortable to talk to you by being approachable and friendly.
  7. Create a friendly home and work environment that isn’t intimidating but warm, welcoming and encouraging.

All of this isn’t to say that those who committed suicide did so because they didn’t have caring families. This is to say that we can try to be more aware of how uncertain suicides can be and how we can make extra efforts to prevent them as much as we can.

Every life matters. Yours and mine.