I have been on both sides of this conversation. I was a suicide counselor. I have sat with people in unimaginable pain. And I have also experienced suicidal ideation myself. What those experiences taught me is that pain does not care how successful, intelligent, loved, accomplished or “strong” you are. And yet we still attach so much judgment to suicidal thoughts, particularly when they come from someone who, from the outside, seems to “have everything.” That judgment is not harmless. Because when someone is already struggling to stay afloat, shame can become one more reason to stay silent. In honor of Suicide Prevention Month, I want to say this clearly: We do not need to normalize suicide. We need to normalize TALKING about suicidal thoughts. We need to make it safer to say, “I don’t want to be here.” We need to make asking for help an act of strength, not evidence of weakness. And we need to stop requiring someone’s suffering to make sense to us before we decide it deserve...