I had an entirely different post planned today about Earth Day and what my family does to lower our carbon footprint.
But as a working mom's blog, I felt compelled to write about the recent suicide of Freddie Mac's CFO, David Kellerman. There's still a lot of speculation as to why Kellerman would take his own life. Was it the pressure from the regulators? Was it the disgrace of knowing that the company made terrible, costly, greedy choices that are now affecting the livelihoods of millions of Americans? Did he see his situation as utterly hopeless and give up? Or did he take the easy way out?
I can only imagine that this particular CFO position would have been filled with conflicting pressure and demands. Struggling with loyalties to Freddie Mac executives versus making decisions that are right regardless of the loyalty. It's entirely plausible that Kellerman could have felt a real sense of abandonment related to the people he had trusted - people that have ruined lives and helped put this economy in the worst situation in the history of this country.
All of a sudden, suicide doesn't sound so bad. Right?
Let me tell you something. NO JOB IS WORTH TAKING YOUR LIFE.
It's a job, people. A fucking job. You don't go an off yourself because you feel overwhelmed.
If you feel overwhelmed. If you feel that the only way out of the pain and the depression and the hurt that you are feeling right this very moment is to kill yourself... I beg you to please get help. Call a suicide hotline. Call 911. Tell your doctor. Tell anyone.
There can be a light at the end of the tunnel. And it doesn't have to end with death. But you have to be willing to tell someone what you are feeling, what you are thinking. There are people who can help you. Who can show you hope. Who can get you back to the person you were before. Who won't give up on you.
Nothing. NOTHING is worth taking your own life.
