Suicide is a global epidemic. We are all connected. What can we do to make a difference?

Here are 10 ways to tip the scales in a more favorable direction. Our every action, intention, and belief counts.

1. Be neighborly and reach out to decrease loneliness and isolation.

2. Become the anti-bully. Become tolerant of others. Don’t punish differences.

3. Seek help for your depression, addiction, run-away anxiety, PTSD, and other mental health concerns. You don’t have to do it alone. Ever.

4. Be kind. Give others the benefit of the doubt. Lend a helping hand. Kindness positively shifts energies and it makes us feel good. It’s a good prophylactic medicine.

5. Be proactive: Write a check, volunteer, or take steps to help those of in need of a job, a bed, a meal, or how to read a book. Every little bit does count.

6. Work on your emotional intelligence. Fluency in expressing our feelings in a direct, non-threatening way can make a huge difference in our personal interactions. After all, we are social beings.

7. Make peace with yourself. No more cursing at your inner demons. No more emotionally leaking or ranting and raving due to your unhealed childhood wounds. Learn to accept – and, even, love – your very humanness.

8. Develop your cultural IQ. We are share one blue-green marble. Let’s respect our wealth of cultures and learn to understand one another. Crickets may not be my go-to food, but I am happy you are enjoying your crunchy meal.

9. Who needs judgment? Practice compassion. As the saying goes, everyone is struggling and fighting their own battles.

10. Share your sparkle. Show your light as you walk with integrity, coherence, and an open heart. It helps more than you know.

Author's Bio: 

Adele Ryan McDowell, Ph.D., is a teacher, writer, and psychotherapist with 30+ years’ experience. Dr. McDowell’s work focuses on helping clients find hope, balance, and peace in the face of crisis, trauma, abuse, and grief. She has worked with suicide, domestic violence, and sexual assault crisis hotlines, survivors of Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, the Joplin Tornado, and the Newtown shooting; clients struggling with addiction as well as those moving through profound life changes such as grief and health challenges.

Dr. McDowell is the author of Balancing Act: Reflections, Meditations, and Coping Strategies for Today’s Fast-Paced Whirl. The suicide of a fellow psychologist led to the creation of her second book, Making Peace with Suicide: A Book of Hope, Understanding, and Comfort.

You can learn more about Adele, her writing, and her thinking at www.AdeleRyanMcDowell.com and www.AdeleandthePenguin.com.