When a Relationship is Just Not Worth It

Suicide has, up until now, been something I’ve read about or heard about in a far removed way.  No one I’ve ever known personally has taken his or her own life.  Yet in the last 30 days, one person I knew and one person I didn’t know cut their lives short.

Although the impact of the sad news about the person I did know shocked and rocked me, the impact of the person I didn’t know had a profound effect, as well.  You see, the person I didn’t know committed suicide right before my eyes.

My husband and I were in Montreal two weeks ago and were gazing at the St. Lawrence River when we suddenly heard a scream.  We looked toward the sound and saw a man jump from the railing of the boardwalk we were standing on.  He landed into the 45 degree river and by the look on his face, regretted his decision.  In the few seconds it took us to call 911, the man disappeared and never resurfaced, alive anyway.

What the man who jumped into the river and the other person we knew who ended his life had in common was that they both had girlfriends who broke off their relationship.  To say these men were saddened by the break-up is obviously a gross understatement, but clearly both men felt life was just not worth living anymore without their partner.

At the risk of sounding trite, no relationship, regardless of how loving and incredible it might be, is worth anyone ending his or her life for it.  I am almost sure that if these men had been asked as they took their last breath if they would like a second chance at life, they would have grabbed it.

When you are going through a relationship break-up, you will survive if and only if you love yourself first and foremost.  Through the pain, through the agony, through the interminable depression and desperation, there is a light.  That light is your own life.

October 15, 2008 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment