Today, I would like to share my thoughts on a heavy topic, one that’s not easy to discuss, but that I feel is deeply necessary. This is precisely why I created Heartfelt Conversations with Emilie: to give space to the truths we often carry in silence.
What I am about to share comes from a very personal place, from the quiet corners of my own story, and from what I have witnessed in so many others. It’s not just about pain. It’s also about hope, healing, and the soul-deep power of being seen, felt, and understood.
So before we begin, I invite you to take a breath with me. Let this be a soft landing. You are welcome here, just as you are.
I first shared this part of my life in my book, The Naked Truth of a Healer: The Path to My Authentic Self. Coming back to this now feels like opening an ancient, sacred door, not because the pain still defines me, but because I know that somewhere, someone stands at their edge, longing not just to be recognized, but to be truly seen, deeply felt, and profoundly understood. It is the silent pain in our hearts that isolates us, yet it is also the very pain that calls us home to connection.
We are living in tender, trying times. Many people seem to “function” normally, wearing smiles for others to see, yet they silently battle deep internal pain every day. I understand this struggle because I’ve been through it myself. I have helped communities impacted by suicide, witnessing how often vibrant individuals, full of life, find themselves in unexpected darkness. September 10, as we acknowledge World Suicide Prevention Day, I feel it is more important than ever to speak openly and honestly, not just about the statistics, but about the souls behind them without judgment. We can all experience moments of darkness where we feel like we have lost the ground beneath our feet. This is not a sign of weakness, but a reminder that we are human.
When I was 20 years old, I experienced the darkest night of my life. For a moment, I relaxed to the idea of death. I did not want to die. I wanted the bleeding pain in my heart to stop. The silent, soul-piercing ache was too much to carry. From the outside, I appeared well-grounded, even radiant.
I was the one whom others turned to, the strong one, the reliable one, the giver. I held space for so many, all while quietly bleeding inside. My despair didn’t scream, it whispered. It was wrapped in smiles and responsibility. Day after day, the weight grew heavier. No one saw how tightly it clung to me, how it slowly smothered my spirit as I fought to keep the pain hidden beneath the surface of my well-kept life. I was able to save myself from the darkest moment of my life. Not everybody is that lucky.
In 2025, we are in the depths of a mental health and spiritual crisis. The numbers are alarming. In the United States alone, more than 49,000 people died by suicide in 2022. That’s roughly one death every 11 minutes.1 The suicide rate is the highest it has been since World War II. Young people, especially, are suffering. Among those aged 20–24, the suicide rate jumped by 63% from 2001 to 2021.2
According to several leading voices in the field of suicide prevention, disconnection is the center of many crises. Edwin Shneidman, American clinical psychologist and suicidologist, who coined the term “psychache,” believed suicide is a result of unbearable psychological pain, a pain often caused by unmet emotional and spiritual needs, not just mental illness.3 Chikako Ozawa-de Silva, a distinguished medical and psychological anthropologist, explored how societal structures can make people feel invisible and expendable in her book The Anatomy of Loneliness.
“Loneliness,” she writes, “can be as lethal as disease.”4 Dr. Thomas Insel, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, and Dr. Therese Rosenblatt, a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst, emphasize that while suicide has clinical components, healing begins in connection, through belonging, meaning, and safe relational spaces.5
Lastly, renowned psychotherapist Esther Perel discusses the heightened level of disconnection in our society, where people have thousands of followers. Perel says, “I have a thousand friends, but not a single person to feed my cat.”6 We are collectively more connected than ever before, yet we are also more isolated, with no one to call during an emergency. Loneliness has become a silent epidemic, compounding the wounds left by trauma, societal pressure, and chronic emotional suppression. But beneath this disconnection lies a deeper spiritual wound, the forgetting of who we truly are. We are more than our struggles. We are complex beings with experiences that shape us, deserving of compassion and understanding. We are sacred souls, wired for belonging. Our true essence is love.
When someone considers ending their life, it is not always a wish to die. It is often a cry for a life that feels alive. A life where they are seen, held, and allowed to be exactly as they are, without masks, without performance, without having to shrink their truth.
Many people today carry invisible burdens. Pain doesn’t always shout. Sometimes it whispers beneath the surface. In my own life, I began to find relief when I finally allowed my pain to be seen and acknowledged. Embracing the freedom of my soul in sharing my truth brought me a sense of peace that I had been longing for. It was a journey of connection and understanding that helped me heal. Healing did not come overnight. It came slowly, through connection. Through remembering that even with my deepest wounds, I was not broken. I was enough. I was worthy.
The rising suicide rates are not just statistics. They are stories. They are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, lovers, friends. They are spiritual cries for something more profound, for authenticity, for a sense of belonging, and for a reason to live beyond mere survival. We are not meant to walk this life alone. We are not meant to be superficially connected by memes, TikTok trends, social media, or the AI world. We are not meant to carry the weight of our human experience in silence.
Let’s do more this September to talk about suicide prevention.
Talking about suicide prevention is essential, but it’s only the beginning. Love without action is like a seed that is never planted, beautiful in theory, but unable to take root or grow into anything real. It stays buried in potential, never awakening into the life it was meant to take.
We can share hotlines and post awareness hashtags, but if we don’t show up, if we don’t take the time to truly see one another, then what would happen if we put down our phones a little more and look around us? What if prevention meant more than reacting to a crisis?
What if it meant slowing down enough to connect deeply?
We live in a culture where the normalized response to the question, “How are you doing?” is usually “busy.” This answer does not say anything about HOW someone is doing, but what they are doing. What about exploring, “How are you truly doing?” where it offers compassion and curiosity, led by kindness, with the deep intention to connect with people, not through posts or trends, but through human connection?
This is the soul work we need. Looking beyond the surface smiles. Listening beyond the rehearsed answers. Being present enough to catch the silent cries. If we want to turn these heartbreaking statistics around, we need a revolution of the soul, a revolution of presence, empathy, and courageous connection.
The world doesn’t just need more talk, it needs more hearts to awake, more hands ready to hold, and more souls willing to walk the path together—not on social media, but in genuine human connection.
Will you be one of them?
If you or someone you know is in crisis, reach out. You can call or text 988 in the U.S. for free, confidential support 24/7.
By Émilie Macas
Bibliography
1.Garnett, Matthew F., Sally C. Curtin, “Suicide Mortality in the United States, 2002–2022.” U.S. Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NCHS Data Brief, No. 509 (September 2025), accessed July 25, 2025, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db509.htm#section_1
2. Curtin, Sally C., Matthew F. Garnett, “Suicide and Homicide Death Rates Among Youth and Young Adults Aged 10 – 24: United States, 2001–2021.” U.S. Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NCHS Data Brief, No. 471 (June 2023), accessed July 25, 2025, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db471.htm
3. Baryshnikov, Ilya., Erkki Isometsä, “Psychology pain and suicidal behaviour: A review.” Frontiers. Volume 13 – 2022 (August 2022), accessed July 25, 2025, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.981353/full
4. Osawa de-Silva, Chikako, “The Lonely Society: Medical Anthropologist Examines Loneliness and Suicide.” Psychiatry Online. Volume 55, No. 24 (December 2020), accessed July 25, 2025, https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.pn.2020.12b8
5. Rosenblatt, Therese, “Pathways to Suicide Prevention: Meaning, purpose, and relationships are key.” Psychology Today. August 10, 2022, accessed July 25, 2025, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inside-real-peoples-heads/202208/pathways-suicide-prevention
6. Brown, Brené, host. “Esther Perel on New AI – Artificial Intimacy.” Unlocking Us, March 20, 2024. Podcast audio. https://brenebrown.com/podcast/new-ai-artificial-intimacy/
