All-Pro NFL linebacker Junior Seau, who spent most of his amazing career with the San Diego Chargers ended his life recently with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. There is much speculation on why he did it. That's not what this article is about.

I got to see Seau play in person twice in his career. Once against the Colts and once against the Rams. He was an amazing leader and ball player. When the play ended, he was almost always where the ball was. He was the true definition of a football player.

One of the most touching tributes to Seau was by Saints offensive lineman Eric Olsen. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/02/junior-seau-dead-suicide-eric-olsen-twitter_n_1472482.html">Take time to read the story at Huffington Post.</a> Without Seau's encouragement, Olsen would probably have never pursued a football career.

This morning, I was listening to sports radio and a caller to one of the programs used one of my least favorite phrases when it comes to suicide. The caller said, "he took the easy way out."

<a href="http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/seau2.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-6466" style="margin-left: 6px; margin-right: 6px;" src="http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/seau2.jpg" alt="" width="296" height="298" /></a>The easy way out. There are a lot of reasons I abhor that phrase. First, it is extremely insensitive to the family of anyone who has lost someone due to suicide. For the family who is suffering the loss of a loved one who took their own life, there are few words of comfort. There are broken pieces that need to be picked up and that will never be put back together again. Using phrases like, "he took the easy way out," is not a way to help.

It's almost as bad as saying to the family, "he picked a long-term solution for a short-term problem." Yeah, we get what you mean, but those are not words to console with.

I had a grief counselor tell me once that those left behind in the wake of suicide are all left wondering, "Why? Was there something I could have done? Was it something I did?" And each of those people all carry with them a piece of that person and a disturbing part of the questions unanswered.

Secondly, using the phrase, "the easy way out," typically comes from those who have no understanding of what severe depression is like. The type of depression that leads one down a path where seemingly, the only door available to them is one that leads them to self-destruction. It's an awful place to be, when suddenly, one believes that the world would be a better place without them or that things are never going to improve. The path to that door is not easy, it is terrible, awful and heartbreaking.

There may be signs that someone is considering suicide that we can watch for. Suicide is not the answer for problems, obviously. But grieving families need support, proper words and consoling, instead of cliche, speculation and strange looks.

There comes a moment when we all need to be wary of the words we use and ask ourselves why we use them. This might be one of those moments where we remove a certain phrase from our vocabulary.

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Links:

<a href="http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-recognizing-signs-of-suicide">WebMD Suicide and Depression: Signs and Symptoms</a>

<a href="http://www.console.ie/index.php?contentid=Suicide&amp;sectionid=suicide-bereavement">Console: Suicide Bereavement</a>

<a href="http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/">National Suicide Prevention Hotline</a>

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