The Sadness of Reality

So here I am on another over-night shift and as I was reading some of the notes from other staff members regarding current clients I remembered something shocking. I recently googled “harm” on Google Images and was floored by the percentage of pictures depicting SELF-HARM. I started thinking of ALL of the different types of harm and wondered why on earth self-harm was so prevalent?!?! I started rattling off all of the different types of harm there are (physical, emotional, mental, financial, against children, against adults, against elderly, against people with disabilities, against GBLT, religious, environmental, chemical, warfare, and the list goes on and on) and realized that this image search seemed greatly disproportionate. Then the sadness of reality hit me… I didn’t know what was worse…That there are some many different forms of harm that humans, animals, plants, and this world experience or that a disheartening number of people contemplate or commit self-harm.

According to an article published by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) “In 2008, the first-ever large-scale, community study of personality disorders found a lifetime prevalence of 5.9 percent (18 million people) for BPD.”  In 2009, a Time Magazine article stated that in regards to people with a borderline diagnosis, ”As many as 75% hurt themselves, and approximately 10% commit suicide — an extraordinarily high suicide rate (by comparison, the suicide rate for mood disorders is about 6%). “

So I ask this… How can so many people live in a world where there is so much “harm” when all it takes is a little bit of compassion from everyone to make a huge change in the world?

      

Something needs to change….

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