Suffering in Silence (2 min read)

Something truly startling, like 85% of people who commit suicide show no signs of struggle to those that know them. 85%....

For me, this shows a couple of things to be true. One, that people suffer in silence and in an attempt to keep this arrangement secure and not be invaded by others – they reinforce the persona that is ‘fine, happy and functioning.’ But more interestingly, I find a second thing to be true. That we are terrible at knowing when the people we see every day are suffering.

It is incredible to me that our response to this statistic is ‘Wow, people really do hide their suffering,’. When it should be, ‘Wow, we really must improve our perception into how others are, in themselves, at a deeper level’.

Perhaps it is because most of the people we spend our time with are in the workplace, where outcomes are the bottom line and our focus is often diverted to a process over relationships.

Relationships can, of course, be distracting in the workplace. They can also, be the core of a thriving culture that allows the group to flourish.

Perhaps we are afraid of noticing because to notice would be to engage our own empathy and we would be forced to face our own sadness, nihilism and existential angst.

 Are people really suffering?

Or are they disconnected from the feeling that others are noticing them, and even care about them?

Is the suffering that people are subject to a result of underlying conditions, such as Addiction, Depression and Anxiety Disorders?

Or is their suffering simply a consequence of a culture that is trained not to notice until it is too late. 

Something to think about...