I lost my sister Rachael to suicide just after her 18th birthday. I had so much hope for her because she was doing a lot better than she had in the past. I felt like I was finally getting my sister back. I didn't really understand the mental illness she had been trying to fight on her own for years, and honestly I don't think she understood it either. She only saw herself as weak and different and that is the furthest from the truth.
I wish I could have known then what I know now and tell her that she could live a long healthy life. I wish I had understood that she was sick.
I really want people to know that mental illness is something to take seriously and that there IS help and you CAN be well.