During the moments of your life when you feel like you’re alone…like you’re the only one dealing with what you’re dealing with, know you’re not.
 

Don’t feel alone.
 

Those inner battles you’re hiding are ones that may of us are also hiding. They’re pains that we are secretly trying to manage, overcome, and let go of. They’re there inflicting all of us. I know you may not believe me, but you’re not alone in what it is you’re facing.
 

For me, my battle is depression. It’s the thing that weighs me down. The thing that at times, I have to secretly act like doesn’t phase me. Doesn’t exist. At moments I feel so insecure by this. So alone. I feel like no one could understand what I’m going through. Then at other moments, I find that I am not alone. I find that when I gain the courage to tell the ones closest to me what’s happening, when I find the courage to tell someone near me how I’m feeling, then I get can through my weak moments. I can breathe. I can believe and have hope that whatever it is that I am facing, I can get through it. But it’s hard when the weak moments come. I know it’s hard…
 

I was reminded of how hard it is for many of us after reading about the suicide of MarShawn McCarrel. He was a well-known Black Lives Matter activist who recently took his own life on the statehouse steps. Before he took his life, he posted on his Facebook page, “My demons demons won today.”

In an interview with The Columbus Dispatch, Molly Shack, an organizer with the Ohio Student Association who knew him, said she believed many burdens had been weighing on MarShawn: “We’ve been working so hard, and yet the conditions for the people in our community and the people that he loved and cared about are still so hard. I have to imagine that that burden weighed a lot on him. “Shawn made an incredible impact and was such a light for literally thousands of people. The ripples around him go very far.”
 

His mother Leatha Wellington and his twin brother MarQuan McCarrel also told the Dispatch that he put his causes before himself, and as a result, his work may have left him exhausted in a way they never realized.
 

“He had so much to do,” his mother said. “He forgot to take time for himself.”
 

MarQuan had become known for his work with Black Lives Matter, according to New York Daily News. He helped to organize protests in Ohio after a Missouri cop shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in 2014. Additionally, he founded a youth mentorship program, called Pursuing Our Dreams. This initiative also helped to launch Feed the Streets, a project to help Ohio’s homeless. For all of his great contributions, he was named one of Radio One’s Hometown Champions, an award given to community activists and volunteers. And days before his death, he was recognized at the NAACP’s Image Awards in California for his activism efforts. He attended the event with his mother.
 

MarShawn McCarrel with his mother, Leatha Wellington, at the NAACP Image Awards. (Photo courtesy of Facebook)

According to The Washington Post reported, his death has brought to light the issues that many activists suffer from in silence. The Post reported this riveting comment about the situation: “In the movement you’re just constantly engaging in black death, seeing the communal impact,” said Jonathan Butler, the University of Missouri graduate student whose hunger strike last fall led to the resignation of the school’s president. “You’re being faced with the reality that I’m more likely to be killed by the police, that I’m being discriminated against. You start to see all of the micro-aggressions.”
 

As a well-known Millennial Ohio activist, his suicide also sheds light on the amount of those battling depression, suicidal thoughts, and other life pressures among our generation, especially minorities. I can relate to him so much. Not just as a minority, but as one who is also fighting inner battles. That’s why to hear about his untimely death has saddened me immensely. From his life, I hope many will feel encouraged to seek help. And most of all, I hope many will know that they are not the only one suffering from what it is that they are suffering with. We all have inner battles we’re facing. And I believe the sooner that we get over the stigma around these issues, the more likely we will not only be able to save ourselves, but also others who are suffering in silence…
 

Rest in peace MarShawn.
 
 

If you or someone you know needs help, please call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. And if you are outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of international resources.
 

Need A Massage? Learn How To Give One To Yourself And Your Loved Ones

7 months ago by Aaron 4 min read No comments

Receiving a massage, whether it’s given by someone else or self-administered, can help loosen your muscles and establish a better connection not only with your body but also with the people you love.