I did it!

I am now a certified suicide interventionist!

Class today was hard-we had to role play and play both parts-the person in crisis and the interventionist. It was hard for me to play the person in crisis-it brought up a ton of old feelings. But it was even harder to play the care giver. It felt like there was so much pressure to say the exact right thing to get the person out of their crisis. But I learned so much, and I feel very confident in not only my ability to help someone, but in my fellow care givers to help me help the person in crisis.

And I'm certified! I'm actually really proud of myself. Not only did I handle the material and the scenarios that were thrown at me, I handled them well.

I think the most important thing I learned this weekend was the fact that dealing with these calls is emotionally draining, and not only is it ok to cry, it's ok to tell your fellow care givers that hey-that call was hard on me, can we talk about it?

And my training gives me the skills required to save a life. I can save someones life. I can recognize the cries for help and I know what to do to bring the person back to the here and now, and help them help themselves.

I'm so proud!