September 10th, 2009,is World Suicide Prevention Day, organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). Every year many millions of people make serious suicide attemptswhich, while they do not result in death, require medical treatment and mental health care, and reflect severe personal unhappiness or illness. Millions more people – the family members and close friends of those who die by suicide are bereaved and affected by suicide each year, with the impact of this loss often lasting a lifetime.
Suicide exacts huge psychological and social costs. Because almost a quarter of suicides are teenagers and young adults aged less than 25 years ( 250,000 suicides a year) suicide is a leading cause of premature death, accounting for more than 20 million years pf healthy life lost. link to read more about World Suicide Prevention Day activities from around the world
Actress Meera Syal, 47, was compelled to make a new BBC documentary tackling the subject of self-harm.
Meera was moved after reading the shocking statistics from the Mental Health Foundation that young Asian women are three times more likely to self-harm than any other group.
It was around 11 years ago that Meera picked up a newspaper and read the headline ‘Young Asian women are three times more likely to self-harm than any other group’. [continue reading…]
Eleven-year-old Jaheem Herrera woke up on April 16 acting strangely. He wasn’t hungry and he didn’t want to go to school.
But the outgoing fifth grader packed his bag and went to school at Dunaire Elementary School in DeKalb County, Georgia.
He came home much happier than when he left in the morning, smiling as he handed his mother, Masika Bermudez, a glowing report card full of A’s and B’s. She gave him a high-five and he went upstairs to his room as she prepared dinner read full article
Adolescents and young adults typically consider peer relationships to be all important. However, it appears that strong family support, not peer support, is protective in reducing future suicidal behavior among young adults when they have experienced depression or have attempted suicide.
New research that will be presented here April 17 at the annual meeting of the American Association of Suicidology shows that high school depression and a previous suicide attempt were significant predictors of thinking about suicide one or two years later. But, those individuals who had high levels of depression or had attempted suicide in high school were less likely to engage in suicidal thinking if they had strong family support and bonds. In addition, having a current romantic partner also reduced suicidal thoughts. [continue reading…]
