Jessica Says: "To Write Love On Her Arms"

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TWLOHA - WHAT IS IT? :

Taken from their website:

"MISSION STATEMENT:
To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.  TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

VISION:

The vision is that we actually believe these things…
You were created to love and be loved.  You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you're part of a bigger story.  You need to know that your life matters.

We live in a difficult world, a broken world.  My friend Byron is very smart - he says that life is hard for most people most of the time.  We believe that everyone can relate to pain, that all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments.  You need to know that you're not alone in the places you feel stuck.
We all wake to the human condition.  We wake to mystery and beauty but also to tragedy and loss.  Millions of people live with problems of pain.  Millions of homes are filled with questions – moments and seasons and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay.  We know that pain is very real.  It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real, and that help is real.

You need to know that rescue is possible, that freedom is possible, that God is still in the business of redemption.  We're seeing it happen.  We're seeing lives change as people get the help they need.  People sitting across from a counselor for the first time.  People stepping into treatment.  In desperate moments, people calling a suicide hotline.  We know that the first step to recovery is the hardest to take.  We want to say here that it's worth it, that your life is worth fighting for, that it's possible to change.
Beyond treatment, we believe that community is essential, that people need other people, that we were never meant to do life alone.

The vision is that community and hope and help would replace secrets and silence.
The vision is people putting down guns and blades and bottles.
The vision is that we can reduce the suicide rate in America and around the world.
The vision is that we would learn what it means to love our friends, and that we would love ourselves enough to get the help we need.

The vision is better endings.  The vision is the restoration of broken families and broken relationships.  The vision is people finding life, finding freedom, finding love.  The vision is graduation, a Super Bowl, a wedding, a child, a sunrise.  The vision is people becoming incredible parents, people breaking cycles, making change.

The vision is the possibility that your best days are ahead.

The vision is the possibility that we're more loved than we'll ever know.

The vision is hope, and hope is real.

You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story."

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JESSICA SAYS :
Suicide, self-mutilation, addiction, and depression are very difficult topics to openly talk about with anyone, let alone even write about. I will not discuss what I may or may not have dealt with on my own here, but I can relate, sympathize, and empathize. I am the kind of person who will support whomever with whatever means they find to be happy, however, I will also inform them of the consequences, which in most cases, they already know about. I will also obviously try my best to help them.

I did a blog post on this because I think it's important for people to know that they aren't alone, even if they're in a very dark place. When I recently dealt with a very trying and emotionally devastating situation, I was in what seemed to be a perpetually dark place. But I sucked up my stubbornness and turned to my friends and others for help with shaking hands and teary eyes, something I don't generally do. I will not say what I may have felt or wanted to do - but didn't - throughout this particular situation I will not elaborate upon, but I think others can relate. I think people should definitely try to turn to others (I chose friends, a relative, and authority figures, not a therapist) if they are feeling depressed, fighting the urges to harm themselves, turning to an addiction to deal with the situation, or contemplating/attempting suicide. I think people would be surprised by how many people will support them and let them know that they can survive their ordeal and they'll help them do that. I can't say that I am doing better, but I'm grateful for the help of those to whom I turned.

You can read/view my awesome dedication blog of their assistance
Here.

I also hope my friends know that they can turn to me if they feel any of these things. I may not necessarily write "Love" on my arms, but it'll always be there for others.

TO THE READERS:

• Have you ever heard of TWLOHR?
• What do you think of this particular movement?
• What would you do if a friend turned to you and told you that they wanted to die even though in your eyes, they've always been strong?

~xxj