Matt’s Story
After a serious injury abruptly halted my rugby career and my best friend tragically lost his life in a motorbike accident, I was in a really bad place. Struggling with mounting debt and feeling overwhelmed, I sought solace in alcohol as a means of escape. Consequently, my relationship with family and friends suffered, and to add to the turmoil, my work performance began to decline.
I became at peace with my plan and had a feeling of relief that soon it would all be over.
I was going to take my own life.
I was lucky, many are not. After 3 days in hospital, I knew I needed change and this meant that I would have to seek help and more importantly, talk.
I have been through more difficult situations since my suicide attempt, but this doesn’t take anything away from how I was feeling at the time. I have learned new coping mechanisms and aware of my triggers so I can acknowledge when I need support and support comes in several forms. There are services like ours, friends, family and even yourself. I learned to cope better once I learned to talk to myself more.
I am fortunate to be able to tell my story and do the work I do daily to prevent this from happening to others.
The message I want to share is that you matter, your feelings and pain are valid, feeling like this doesn’t mean you’re weak, you don’t have to feel guilty you are not a burden and if you are a suicide attempt survivor, you are not alone and it’s a great thing that you survived!
I can’t say talking will fix everything and heal the pain but it’s the start towards it.
Suicide? It could have been me.