I was afraid of suicide, but...
If we had it our way, every week we’d be sharing a story from our community. This week, we’ve got a guest article from Matt Breen, and if you’d like to add to the momentum, please email your story to hello@runningforresilience.com
At Tonight’s run!
Mont Adventure Equipment is setting up a store because when Daylight Savings ends… we’re going to need more runners with head lamps and reflective gear. If you need some new kit, tonight is your opportunity!
And before we get started
I was afraid of suicide, but…
A Guest Article from Matt Breen
Years after my Dad took his life, I would worry I’d be vulnerable to suicide. That because I’m my Father’s Son, I’m somehow destined for the same fate. I was never suicidal, but I couldn’t escape the fear that some day I would be.
Part of my resilience is writing, and so I would write about this fear extensively. It helped me realise that my fear of suicide was in large part a fear of losing control and a fear of death.
I was afraid of suicide, but… I’m not anymore…
and it’s because of writing.
Writing about your struggle can be daunting… sharing your story can be even more so… but writing it can help you, and sharing it can help someone in their time of need… and so here’s a blueprint on how to get started.
And then…
The easiest way to tell your story, even if it’s just to yourself, is to go in the order things happened. This happened to me, then I did this and this happened, and then I did this… and so on. But this can lack depth and can get pretty boring pretty quickly.
But… Therefore
But this lack of substance in a chronologically ordered recount of events is still the basis for a story. Therefore, instead of simply linking them by time, try replacing And then with ‘But’ or ‘Therefore’… ‘Because’ or ‘And so’ work too.
This happened to me, therefore I did this, but then this happened and so I did this.
This simple change can help you tease more out of the actions and events, creating a deeper sense of meaning and understanding in your story… it also helps make for a more engaging story… or title…
Getting fancy…
Once you’ve got the bones of the above, you can start having a bit of fun with techniques like foreshadowing and alliteration. This part is more subjective and to personal taste, but the targeted effort will give your story a certain flavour which can help create the right context for it to be told.
But… you should just get started
To understand or tell your story, you just need to get started and see where it takes you. If you have any questions or comments, please jot them in the comments below.