Why ask "R U OK?"

Today is R U OK? Day across Australia. If any of you don't know, it's a suicide prevention initiative started in 2009, encouraging all of us to ask our families and friends exactly that. I have known people, two girls who were in my year at school, who took their own lives. Their deaths were tragic and shocking, but I'm pleased to say that's the closest suicide has affected me, although for years I've certainly had my own demons.

 

That may seem like a very dumb or patronising question, and sometimes it is. But surely, asking it is better than ignoring the other person. And nor should we need one specific day to look out for each other, but set national days like this are there not just for us to show or continue showing compassion, but to bolster awareness for the issues themselves which need and deserve that compassion and awareness.

Now, I've also been thinking recently about our common personality flaws and feelings, and maybe there's a reason why nobody is perfect. If we all were, we wouldn't make mistakes which we could learn from later, or help others avoid. But we all fall into the same traps very often. Sometimes our problems or negative emotions are temporary, and sometimes they linger. That's why it's better to check. That's why we all should ask, not just today but every day, "R U OK?"