Welcome to Suicide
Awareness Week at
Spreading-Awareness!

(For those of you who are at Arts-and-Health, we are helping to promote this week with the group Spreading-Awareness. Please feel free to join us there for this week's activities and discussions!)

We hope to provide some understanding about suicide and the risk factors for it. This week's topics will include:

Introduction to Suicide Awareness Week, by Aeirmid
Factors of Suicide, by Wataqo
Coping and Seeking Help, by elthereia and Astralseed
Suicide and Who It Affects Part 1, by HuntingForHappiness
Suicide and Who It Affects Part 2, by Nichrysalis
Reaching Out, by Astrikos
Suicide Awareness Week: In Closing, by Nichrysalis

Basic facts about suicide

Did you know that suicide is a top 10 cause of death in the United States? Worldwide, it is top 3. Moreover, 9 out of 10 of the countries with the highest suicide rates in the world are in Europe. Almost 80% of completed suicides are committed by men. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), someone in the world commits suicide every 40 seconds, for a total of approximately 900,000 suicide deaths per year.

According to the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), risk factors for suicide include:

Mental illness
Prior history of suicidality
Family history of mental illness or suicidality
Having access to firearms
Being in prison or jail
Being exposed to suicide in person or via the media

It is commonly believed that completed suicide or suicide attempts are only done by people living with mental illness. While about 90% of suicide completers (those who die by suicide) do have some form of mental illness, this is not necessarily the case. While it is clear that one is likely to be in terrible anguish or feel hopeless or worthless to commit such an act, it can often be in reaction to a physical illness, such as finding out one has HIV. Moreover, just because someone has thought about or even attempted suicide doesn't mean that they will complete suicide later-- although that does raise a person's risk.

Most of the time, there are signs and warnings that an individual may commit suicide. These can (but do not necessarily) include things like giving away prized possessions, withdrawing from friends and family, and threatening self-harm. Such warnings should never be taken lightly; refer the person to a qualified health professional or call 911 (or the emergency line in your country) if you feel it is an imminent threat.

We will have more information about recognizing signs of suicidality later this week.

The WHO also gives the following tips for reducing the risk for suicide:

Reduce access to the means of suicide (e.g. pesticides, medication, guns);
Help people with mental illness (particularly those with depression, alcoholism, and schizophrenia) find treatment;
Follow-up on people who made suicide attempts to see how they are doing;
Be responsible with media reporting (i.e., don't sensationalize, glorify, or demonize it); and
Train primary health care workers.

We look forward to an interesting and educational week. Please never hesitate to ask questions if you have any, and feel free to comment and share. We look forward to working with you.

Resources

Suicide: A major, preventable mental health problem (Fact sheet)
Suicide in America: Frequently Asked Questions
Statistics and Prevention
National Suicide Prevention Hotline (United States): 1-800-273-TALK (8255)