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His Friend Might Be Suicidal After Husband Died of Cancer
I hope you're having a great holiday season. I'm writing you because I need some advice on how to go forward with a friend of mine. About 4 months ago, life dealt him a cruel blow in that his longtime friend and husband died of cancer. I've tried to tell him that I sympathize with him (his hubby was my long time friend as well) and that things will get better soon, but he doesn't seem to listen to me (I also know he's harboring some suicidal thoughts because he has told me about "ending it all"). I know healing takes time (perhaps years even), but what can I do to help him feel better and start to heal? Please help me out!
Thanks, and again, Happy Holidays!
Baarbear
* * *
Dear Baarbear,
What a kind person you are and good friend to be worried about someone else this holiday season. Yes, I can see why you would be concerned. Your friend suffered a serious blow, and now it is Christmastime, when such pain is enhanced because we missed loved ones who aren’t with us.
Several things here. First, and most important, if you feel your friend is in serious danger of attempting suicide, he needs to seek some professional assistance right away. You can easily find help in his area by searching on the Web for suicide prevention help. Oh, and watch out for this warning sign: if your friend suddenly, abruptly acts calm and content, this might actually mean he has resolved to kill himself and is at peace. That, obviously, is not good, so make sure that if such a sudden shift in mood occurs that he is NOT left alone. Oh, and suicide prevention lines can be used by people who fear friends or family are suicidal, not just by the suicidal people themselves. Don’t be afraid to call one yourself and ask for advice. A good start is the national hotline at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/.
In addition to counseling, there are two things you can do: 1) don’t tell him things like “It will get better,” “life will go on,” “The pain will ease with time,” because such words will not help someone in pain and might even aggravate it. Do, however, make sure that he knows he can talk to you and, when he does, don’t bother to offer advice, just listen. Any advice you give will just sound pale in comparison to the deep pain he is going through, but allowing him to get his emotions out, even cry on your shoulder, will help much more. 2) Surround him with people—family and friends, including you—as much as possible, and do fun activities with him. You need to show him—through action, not words—that life is worth living and that there is still a wonderful world out there even after such a tragic loss. Getting involved in a charity would be a very good activity, as such work makes people feel that they are useful to others and can really boost one’s mood.
People often act like those who suffer losses will eventually recuperate completely. That’s not really true. The pain lessens, but it’s always there (e.g., nothing can ever completely heal the pain of a mother who has lost a child). What happens is that people learn to cope with it and get on with their lives. Your friend is at a very vulnerable time when he is most likely to do something that can’t be undone, but if you can help him get through the first year, he will should be able to move on.
I wish you and your friend a happy and safe Christmas and a better New Year!
Papabear
Rule #1: Never tell your parents you're a furry
Who was the person that you never suspected to be a furry that turned out to be a furry?
Monkeys of Different Tribes
First time drawing anything really
I haven't drawn anything since I was about 8 and still in an art class but I am super happy how it came out. Say hello to my incomplete sona,
Kai
wolf, red panda hybrid http://imgur.com/nMECxss
submitted by crazyivan2472[link] [13 comments]
Facerig: Avatar for $15
Real-time face animation for your mobile or PC, for gaming, chats, and film recording…
At some point, every furry has asked themselves this question: Why can’t I be a red panda with goggles? Isn’t modern anthropomorphic science up to the task?
Yes, yes it is.
FaceRig, now on Indiegogo, is a real-time animation software application for your webcam or mobile device, which transforms the user’s facial into the actions of an on-screen character. We deeply respect the FaceRig’s team’s decision to go with a fuzzy red panda as their main example character, and will honor their wishes here. They use the term “Digital Alter-Ego Framework” to describe their project, which is a bit wordy but, useful.
Still shots don’t do FaceRig justice, because the product’s really about motion and voice, so…watch the video. Experience the panda. Because when the actress’s “digital alter-ego” wiggles its little nose, you’ll melt.
What else, what else…FaceRig’s main focus is on chatstuff, Skype and GoogleHangouts, the livestreaming channel TwitchTV, and such. FaceRig’s a general interaction tool, and that covers a lot of ground. It also records to video, and with the ability to add props, voice alteration, music and sound effects, and custom backgrounds (which, happily, affect the ambient and direct lighting on the digital avatar), provides a fair amount of utility for making films. Initially the program plans to launch with 10 characters–we’ve seen the red panda, Anime girl, some sort of devil, and a scary military fellow for narrating real-time shooters. Their ongoing business model assumes occasional new characters as purchasable add-ons at a reasonable price. Users can presumably develop their own, but your mileage may vary.
We are also promised a karaoke mode, which Satan Himself is modeling at left. Merry Christmas!
The big open question for this project is, “What’s next?” Unfortunately, as some of my friends pointed out, the dev team isn’t really working the stretch goals angle–and stretch goals aren’t just a cheesy way to get more money, they build energy and help your fans evangelize….”well, with just $4,000 more we could get PAWS!” sort of thing. The team talks a lot about where they’re heading, but with few seriously concrete details–expand to include input from LEAP Motion, Kinect, Neuroband, and other commercially available sensors, expand the what-all Facerig tracks. Neat stuff, and there’s talk of mapping out proper stretch goals, but at launch, no, not yet.
On the subject of the crowdfunding elements of the project–damn, this should have been launched on Kickstarter, it’s a solid product. It’s been pointed out to me that it’s an international campaign and seems to be launching a beta version instead of a final product, and Kickstarter doesn’t like to pay for salaries/overhead and test batches. And a minor note from a crowdfunding aficionado, nice navigation! I haven’t seen anyone use anchors to guide the reader like this, it’s a good touch.
Holotech Studios, the project’s developers, have some useful partners. They’re working with Visage Technologies, a team that helped create some of the current face and body digitizing standards. Check out their page for interesting wire-frame models and a fun aside about virtual eyewear modeling. They’re halfway to goal as of day 3, and currently the #1 “new project” on IndieGogo, so glad to see IGG’s mythical “GoGo Factor” is working for someone. Good luck!
Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.
Random Adorable Wolf (Art by Zen)
‘Lucid’s Dream’ – an interview with Ookami Kemono
![[link]](http://i.imgur.com/BoZG5rc.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v615/Molested/1355514728914_zps04d02d6b.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](http://i.imgur.com/dsL1tey.jpg){kind=link}
I need advice.
Okay so I've been wanting to do this for a while. How exactly does one get into the community,figure out what their fursona is all that type of stuff...I've been watching for a long time and I finally want to actually understand most of the fur community. Any advice?
submitted by VeryMysterious[link] [9 comments]
Stryr say Hi :3
My newest commission, finally finished! I got this from Leobo, he's really good.
Edit: Drunk Reddit is bad idea, guys.
submitted by Kataou[link] [24 comments]
Coins for everyshibe! wow
Gifting dogecoin to all the /r/furry subscribers for a limited time! Post below w/ address or for tip!
- wow
- so holiday
- merry shibe
- very money
- christmas doge
- such coin
- wow
[link] [32 comments]
Hey there! Looking for some friends to add on the WiiU! Add me?
Title says it all! Just got a WiiU and would love to find some people to add to message and draw pictures with!
Name: JordanJJ
submitted by Ross_the_Foxx[link] [3 comments]