Did you know that every 40 seconds, someone takes their own life? 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens and young adults. In 2023, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration stated that 19.5 percent of teens reported feelings of hopelessness and sadness. 

However, there are many people who don’t speak up about it — if at all — before it’s too late. 

Imagine if your sibling, classmate, colleague or friend said they were so depressed that they just wanted to end it all. They’re unhappy and feel that life is just too tough. How would you react? Would you feel you have done enough for them? Wouldn’t you want to help them? Sadly, the people close to us may be struggling. They just don’t speak up about it. 

But why are people struggling in the first place? Not even 50 years ago, if someone was having a tough time, they were told to toughen up and move on. People battling with depression could not speak up because it was viewed as taboo. Many still think like that today. 

But what’s affecting us? Why isn’t my generation able to “just suck it up?” Even just three decades ago, the world was a different place. People weren’t impacted by the internet or social media. We see influencers talking about their “great lives” because they’ve got this and that, and if you don’t, you won’t be happy. We desire the happy endings of many book and film characters, and we imitate them, hoping to have that same pleasure. 

As for our own lives, school is getting more difficult, and today’s youth are being affected by unspoken standards. We are encouraged to be in a relationship, have perfect grades, keep up with the trends, have a skinny body and so on. It also doesn’t help that we judge the people who don’t stack up to these standards, especially if we, ironically, don’t even live up to them ourselves. 

All of this causes stress. Then, we begin to feel anxious and disappointed in ourselves. Ultimately, we can’t handle it anymore, and we just want it all to end. Why aren’t we speaking up about it? According to a 2021 Forbes study, one in five people do not seek help for their mental health because of the negative stigma that goes with it. They don’t want to appear weak, vulnerable or not normal to a society that appears like they have it all together. 

As Christians, however, we already know we are not part of the societal norm. But that also doesn’t mean we are immune to negative mental health. In the Bible, the prophet Elijah was so spiritually exhausted that he wanted to die. God heard his pleas and told him to eat some food and get some rest. 

After obeying God, Elijah felt much better and didn’t want his life to end. I’m not saying that a snack and a nap will heal whatever you’re going through, but God wants us all to know that this is only a chapter of our lives, not the whole book. 

As stated in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” By trusting in him, we understand that there is a sense of closure and security, and we know that, in the end, everything will be alright. 

If you are going through a tough time or struggling with chronic anxiety or depression, I highly recommend seeking help. Prayer and reading the Bible will help, as well as speaking to a priest or a therapist. There are many faith-based therapists who are professionally trained to help you overcome the obstacles you’re facing and can help you walk in faith. 

But keep in mind: if we all try to be kind to one another and help build one another up instead of tearing each other down, we can help reduce these mental health issues as well as the chances of suicide. By giving one another a reason to live, we can find a renewed sense of purpose for our own lives. Remember that we are all human and far from perfect. Also, remember that you are loved and that God has a plan for you. Just keep looking up, hold on to your faith, and He’ll be there.

Mailelani Lessenberry is a freshman business and theology student at the University of Dallas. Her home parish is St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Bella Vista.

CONWAY

Shannon Trantina, 20, has a heart for ministering to girls, especially those striving to “navigate the hard things with God.” Trantina, a lifelong parishioner and graduate of St. Joseph High School in Conway, spoke a few times this past year to junior high girls on how her spiritual life saved her from anxiety and gossip. 

“I had the realization that God has everything in control, and he has a plan I can’t see and it’s all going to work out for the best. That’s the moment my anxiety was completely gone. … Whenever I started going to adoration and growing in my spiritual life, everything changed.” 

She felt the most anxiety about being “perfect all the time” at school and in sports. She began a devotional series called “Beloved,” listening to Christian music in moments of panic and focusing on God rather than “trying to fix it myself.”  

“I had a spiritual life, but I didn’t personalize it to myself. But once I started opening up and involving God in all aspects of my life,” things changed, she said, adding, “Just finding your purpose through God first will help everything else come more naturally.” 

Her focus on God has led her to volunteer in several ministries, including The Upper Room high school youth group and being a mentor for Deliver Hope, a Christian-based nonprofit in Conway that helps at-risk youth.

“It’s fulfilling. Just seeing them let their guards down and you being the one person they can trust in their life is awesome,” she said of Deliver Hope. 

Trantina, a senior dietetics major at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, said, “Just knowing I can help one person just makes me very happy. … It’s not me; it’s just the work of God going through me.” 

 

More stories will appear in our 15 Young Adults Who Inspire Us 2023 Section as they are posted online. Subscribe to Arkansas Catholic’s digital and print publications to read more content like this.