How you're going to die..

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. From sand we came, to sand we'll return. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, one day we're living, the next we're clocking out for the long nap. We all know this, but still, the thought of death is extremely scary for most people. I think this is because, unlike most other things in life, we don't know anything about death. We don't know when we'll die, how we'll die, or even why we die. We don't know if death is the end or if it's only the beginning of something else. We just don't know.

However, thanks to statistics and probability, we might be able to predict how we're going to die. Most of the time, when we talk about death prevention, people think of locking the door to their houses, learning martial arts, or carrying around a weapon for self-defense. We try to protect ourselves from the other people who might want to harm us. But in reality, the person most likely to kill you is you. The odds of dying by suicide are significantly higher than the odds of getting murdered. Because we're always in our heads, we're always aware of all the wrong we've ever done. We become judge, jury, and executioner in our own court case, and we sentence ourselves to punishments that we don't deserve.

Our mind keeps us in solitary confinement, with soundproof doors so no one outside can ever hear us scream. Slowly, it drains life out until there's nothing left. With how common suicide is, it's surprising to see how some people still treat issues relating to mental health. The way we treat mental health overall has improved, yes, but there's still a long way to go.

If someone came to you to tell you that they felt unsafe and they've been seeing someone around who might try to kill them, your first reaction probably wouldn't be, "Are you sure?" or "It's probably just all in your head; just don't think that way." Instead, you would probably get the person to a place where they feel safe and away from their potential attacker. So why is it that when it comes to mental health issues, which are more likely to kill us, we aren't as kind to one another?

We tell people to stop sulking and just be happy, as if there's a light switch in their head that they can simply click on and off to control their emotions. We tell them that they aren't being strong enough, as if they can fight the demons in their head with their bare hands. We need to start treating people in serious mental health crises the same way we would treat people that are about to get murdered. Instead of telling them to be happy or be strong, let's help get them to a place where they feel safe.

Because in reality, when someone is murdered, it's a guy who opens his door and just gets shot. But when it's suicide, he is also the one who knocks. When he knocks, we need to figuratively lock our doors, learn martial arts, and carry around a weapon for self-defense. This can include things like taking some time off to clear your head and just breathe, doing mindfulness practices like meditation, and of course, seeking actual professional help.

While we're not the ones doing the job, dying by murder is surprisingly unlikely. However, if you will get murdered, you'll most likely be killed by someone you know rather than a stranger. Most murders are carried out with a gun. It's one of man's deadliest inventions, and to be lethal with it, you don't need to have much skill, prior training, or physical strength. You don't need to know how to shoot or need to have shot before. Just pull the trigger, and you'll cause a lot of damage.

This is why gun control is an issue that so many people talk about. Some people argue that bad guys are going to get guns anyway, so the good guys need to be able to own one too to protect themselves. But in reality, how do you know who's a good guy and who's a bad guy? How do you tell that a good guy who gave you a gun today won't turn out to be a bad guy tomorrow?

We also don't consider the fact that there are three different ways the gun can kill you. You can get shot by it, it can fire by accident, or you can use it to put an end to it all yourself. If you don't own a gun, you can only die in one of these three ways. You can g...