Lexi Williams: 'I've been begging for help & no one will help me'

"I'm so sorry that no one listened to you. I'm sorry that you had to suffer through that alone. I wish I could've helped," tweeted @DiamondReally.

"It's heartbreaking to see how you begged for help so obviously and nobody took it seriously. May you rest in peace up there," tweeted @TotallyBia.

These are just a couple tweets out of thousands about Lexi Williams, a North Carolina teen who lost her life to suicide. The 16-year-old Ashbrook High School student died on Nov. 21 after jumping from the Cox Road bridge onto Interstate 85 in Gastonia.

I wish Lexi could have known that she wasn't alone before she died, how many people related to her struggle and how many people wanted desperately to help. Maybe then the outcome would have been different.

But that's the thing. When she was alive, people didn't see all of the signs that filled Lexi's social media account. Lexi was practically screaming for help on her own Twitter, writing things like "When you try to talk to your mom about your stress and mental health issues & she tells you to get over it," and "I've been begging for help & no one will help me."

I think people have become more aware of suicide in the last few years. Today, suicide is talked about at funerals and in news articles, instead of swept under the rug. Today, people aren't afraid to openly mourn victims of suicide and talk about their cause of death. And while I think these steps have been crucial in raising awareness, I think there is still just as much of a stigma against mental illness.

It shouldn't be that way. People should take mental illness seriously — and not just take it seriously when someone dies because of it.

But still, when many of us see someone posting things like Lexi did on social media, we think, "You're just seeking attention" or "Get over it" or "Why are you posting about your problems on social media?" instead of actually helping them.

If you witnessed someone having a seizure, you wouldn't just stand there and watch. You would jump in to try and help; you would call 9-1-1. Yet mental illness can be just as life threatening, and, when someone reaches out for help, whether it's on Facebook, on Twitter, in a text message, or in person, it should never be taken lightly.

Via Yours Truly blogger wrote, "There are many more Lexis out there, with suicidal thoughts. I don’t want her to just be another victim of depression and public neglect. ... I am going to do my part, to make sure her death was not in vain.

"Lexi Williams will make a difference, she mattered, her life mattered, she meant something and you do too. ... You are not alone. ... Without you the world would be completely different, it would be incomplete. You are an important piece to a large puzzle."

If you are contemplating suicide or feel you have no one to help you, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

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6 comments

  1. It’s really good things about you have been begging for help but sad for that no one will help you. Surround yourself with the best/good people you can catch, representative expert, and don't delay as long as the rule you've absolute upon is existence carried out. Since I am an Assignment help folks - http://www.assignmenthelpfolks.com/ writer and I also approach to my students about been suppliant for help. I would like to recommend this website to more people. Thanks for sharing here.

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  2. Wonder what her mother think and feels now . Poor baby girl, rest in Peace.

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  3. �� I'm so sorry for your struggles Lexi. I'm even MORE sorry that you were not able to get the hekp that you cried out for. This was preventable, if only people reached out to you in your time(s) of need.

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  4. I know its incredibly hard to keep going when you're suffering so much inside. I hope this poor girl can help people understand that you can't just look at someone crying for help but actually help them. People always think there will be someone else willing to deal with you but in most cases that just leaves a person more alone and feeling worthless because the cries aren't taken seriously.

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  5. I hope you don’t call 9-1-1 if you see someone having a seizure! My husband has epilepsy and you let it happen then help them. If I called every time we’d be at the hospital every day!

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