As I wrote in my post earlier this month, September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. The month is an important time for us to have the conversations we need about suicide and suicide prevention. In addition to having conversations and sharing stories, it’s also important to share data and statistics that help frame the conversation and spread awareness. Today, I want to share some important statistics in an effort to spread awareness about the growth and prevalence of suicide as a public health issue.
Continue readingWorld Suicide Prevention Day
Having Conversations About Suicide Prevention
After working on this blog for nearly five years, I understand how difficult conversations about mental health can be. There’s a level of nuance that must be applied to these conversations. Everyone is unique, which means that the way we handle certain issues and problems is also unique. That’s why, even though they can be difficult, conversations about suicide prevention are important – and each one of us can help.
Continue readingThe Fight Against Suicide: World Suicide Prevention Day
TW: This post discusses suicide, suicide rates statistics and suicide prevention.
When I write about suicide prevention on this blog, it’s usually within the context of the current state of mental health in the United States. But today, I want to look at suicide prevention from a global perspective by talking about an extremely important day in the mental health community: World Suicide Prevention Day. Because make no mistake – suicide prevention is a global public health issue, and too many people still don’t really know what we’re up against.
Continue readingSuicide Prevention Awareness Month 2020
TW: This post discusses suicide.
Every September while I’ve been writing this blog, I post about Suicide Prevention Month. Since this is a mental health blog, I believe it’s important to see the connection between mental health and suicide prevention, and my own research and experience has shown me ways to advocate and talk about suicide prevention. One of those ways is through education and awareness. Suicide is a public health issue, and we need to understand how important suicide prevention is to fighting against it.
Continue readingA Global Issue – World Suicide Prevention Day 2019
TW: This post discusses suicide
Typically when I post about suicide/suicide prevention, I focus on the issue in America. That’s mostly because when awareness weeks/months happen, it’s mostly about the topic of suicide as it pertains to America. So when I decided to write about World Suicide Day this year (which I’ve never done before), it was one of the first times that I looked at suicide as a global issue. And yes, it is a global issue. Just see what the World Health Organization has to say about it.
The reason that reading about suicide statistics in the United States was troubling for me in the first place was that it had me thinking that the situation was worse in the United States than it was elsewhere. But as I looked up statistics, facts, and figures from other countries, I learned this is just as big of a problem all around the world. And while strategies for suicide prevention have improved in a big way, suicide rates have not decreased in recent years. In fact, it’s estimated that around the world there is a death by suicide every 40 seconds. Every. 40. Seconds.
Just as it was last year, this year’s theme is ‘Working Together to Prevent Suicide’ and I truly believe this theme says a lot about how we need to approach the issue – everyone, anyone can be involved in suicide prevention. Whether it’s checking in on a co-worker or giving a friend a call when you think they might be struggling, we all have a role to play in lifting up those around us and making sure they’re doing okay. But make no mistake, it is not up to just one person – we all have a role to play, and it can come down to three key actions to take:
- Knowing and recognizing signs of someone at risk
- Reaching out to someone in need
- Finding out what resources are available depending on the situation
There are plenty of resources that can provide the best information with specifics on this, but those are the three key takeaways that I wanted to mention because a ton can flow from those three main points. It looks easy on paper, and it some ways it is. But the topic of suicide is so nuanced and complex that the actual discussions can be anything but easy.
It starts with educating yourself, and that’s why days of awareness like today exist. I included so many links today because even though I’m not an expert myself, I know where to turn for information now, and it’s been extremely helpful.
One more thing I think you should do today. If you’re on Twitter, go check out the #WorldSuicidePreventionDay hashtag and give it a read. It might be hard, it might be upsetting, but it will also make it clear how big of an issue this is.
This is real. This is happening. And we have to fight it.
Suicide Prevention Awareness Month 2018
TW: This post discusses suicide.
This is the second consecutive year that I’ve written a post about Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Last year, I couldn’t write this post until the end of the month because September 10th, World Suicide Prevention Day, hit me so hard that it took me a while to recover. I’m writing this post this year a little bit stronger and a little bit more confident.
As it did last year and the years before, suicide remains prevalent in our country. Suicide rates have risen more than 30 percent since 1999 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is still top-ten in cause of death in the United States, the second-leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34, and the fourth-leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 54 according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Those statistics might be hard for you to read – they were hard for me to write. It’s a little unbelievable, when you think about it. It makes you think that suicide is something unavoidable, inevitable. But it’s not inevitable. It’s preventable. Though it’s not always easy to prevent, it is preventable. And we must do what we can to fight it.
For the rest of the month, I’ll be posting about different topics related to suicide prevention. If you’re able, I hope you can read them. Because this problem won’t go away if we ignore it. We need to #ShineTheLight, #BeThe1To and do everything in our power to fight against suicide. It won’t be easy – it might seem impossible – but in the end, it will be worth it.
My Brain's Not Broken 