Today, I was working with a client experiencing passive suicidal ideation. This is when someone isn't exactly happy to wake up alive, but doesn't really plan to end their life. I often hear client's share that going on living seems a lot harder than dying, and to a certain degree-
I can empathize with that logic.
We went deep into discussion about the afterlife, and whether or not living is really worth all the effort.
Suddenly I find myself saying:
"Do you like Hamilton? The musical?
"Oh yeah I love it."
"Me too! It was my COVID hyperfixation. Anyway, you know that line where George Washington says to Hamilton, 'Dying is easy son, living is harder'? I feel like that applies here. We have to identify the reasons that taking the harder route would be worth all the pain and frustration."
And on we went with the session. It wasn't until a few hours later I realized… I counseled a deeply depressed individual with HAMILTON QUOTES.
Sometimes, the wisest thing we can do, is quote someone who said it better than us ;)