It’s National Suicide
Prevention Week! Our goal is to Stop Suicide- so let’s get started! To break
this down into more bite- size chunks of action items, we’ve created a list of
5 things you can do to help prevent suicide. Here is a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention. Now, there are more than five
things you can do, but this is a good starting place.
According to the
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), 42,773 Americans died from suicide in 2014, and suicide claims over
800,00 people globally. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death
in the US and for every suicide there are approximately 25 more attempts. In
the U.S., firearms account for almost 50% of suicides.
What gets me, is that
this is PREVENTABLE! And here’s how:
1. Educate Yourself and Others
The more we know about
suicide, including risk factors and signs the easier it is to identify and
prevent. Just to clarify, risk factors help us identify people who may attempt
suicide or be thinking about it. Warning signs help us know if the person we’ve
identify is in danger of planning suicide. With that information, we also need
to accept that not everyone is going to meet these risk factors of show these warning
signs. So here is a list of resources for you to get to know suicide:
Warning Signs and Risk
Factors
General Guides to Suicide and Prevention
Suicide
Prevention Week Information (Read the
Introduction)
Wisconsin Information
2 Increase
Help- Seeking
One barrier to
receiving treatment is not knowing when or where to get it. So first, again, is
education. Understanding risk factors and warning signs help to identify when
more support is needed. OK, we’ve asked for help…. Now what? This is where
knowing services and supports comes in. No one is expected to know every support
group, therapist, and treatment option there is in any given city and the
internet can have an overwhelming amount of information. Luckily, we have a
list of resources to help connect you or someone you care about to the right
services:
Crisis Support
National Support
Connections to Find Support
Wisconsin Connection to Support
3.
END THE
STIGMA
So we know mental
illness is a risk factor for suicide, and many of the other risk factors are
symptoms of mental illness. It’s not hard to connect mental health and suicide,
which is why addressing public and self- stigma around mental health helps
prevent suicide. On top of the challenges someone may be facing with their mental
illness, they may also experience self- shaming or guilt, along with negative
stereotypes and prejudice caused by misconceptions of mental illness. This
stigma creates a barrier to receiving appropriate care and stifles support
efforts. The more we share our own struggles, educate ourselves and everyone
else on mental health issues and suicide, and correct misconceptions, the
stronger our cause to stop suicide can be.
While
we’re at it…. Pledge
to Stop Suicide Here
4.
DONATE
This is where we lose
people, when we start asking for money. BUT, we are not necessarily asking for
money here – so keep reading!
Donate your time,
personal experiences, data, expertise, knowledge, and yes money to promote suicide
awareness and prevention. The internet is filled with resources for support,
motivation and inspiration, and most of those are fueled by personal stories,
survivors, and peer support. This includes video
blogs, short statements, longer stories, and anonymous surveys. There are
also a variety of opportunities for peer support. Volunteer with a crisis line or an online chat or texting service. Another
way to give is to donate your data,
share information to produce more evidence for researchers. If giving money is
not your thing, which is completely understandable even before you explain why,
there are other ways to support this cause financially. Participate in a walk or fundraising, you could even volunteer to
coordinate and organize. There are also many memorial funds that allow you to donate in the name of someone lost
to suicide, this is a more personal touch and fosters that persons legacy. Another
method is to buy merchandise from
programs and organizations--- that benefits suicide prevention, gets you
something meaningful, and promotes awareness when you wear or use what you bought---
it’s a win, win win!
Donate Your Experience:
Donate Financial Support:
5.
ADVOCATE
Going through all
these resources, risk factors, warning signs, organizations, and awareness
campaigns, it is clear that all this support we are talking about is necessary.
Sometimes, people can’t act, speak up, or advocate for their own needs. Anything
we can do to make that easier, let’s. Any advocacy we can do, interpersonally,
in our communities, or nationally, let’s. Combine the first four parts of this
blog to participate in this last one. To start, get active on social media
sharing and promoting awareness campaigns. Sharing knowledge and experience
helps reduce stigma and get people the treatment they need.
Here are some sharable images:
