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Reducing a suicidal person's access to guns can help save lives. And who better to take on this suicide prevention effort than the gun community, asserts Cathy Barber of Harvard’s Means Matter Campaign. Ralph Demicco, a former gun shop owner agrees, “I’ve experienced an awful lot of incidents where friends, customers, and acquaintances have taken their lives with firearms, so it’s a very striking issue to me.” Barber, Demicco, other gun owners, and public health professionals joined together to form the Gun Shop Project, forging an unlikely but highly successful partnership with the mission of reducing a suicidal person’s access to guns.
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Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are using their coding skills for an important cause: lowering the suicide rate at their school.
In the past decade, there have been 12 suicides among MIT graduate and undergraduate students, according to the Boston Globe. While the university has instituted its own initiatives to support mental health, three students took it upon themselves to go a step further. Through an anonymous texting hotline called Lean On Me, anyone in the MIT community in need of support can reach out at anytime and connect with a peer — which can be just as important as getting help from a professional, says MIT sophomore Andy Trattner, one of the hotline's creators. Read Full Article, By Allison Tate, NBC News Gavin Holden's classmates at Webber Middle School told him to "just go kill yourself."
Again. And again. And again. "When you hear that every day from multiple people, you start to believe it," he said. Last year, 33 youths ages 17 and younger were admitted to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins and Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland following suicide attempts, a 6.5 percent increase from 2014. Banner Health, which also has a facility in Fort Collins, did not have similar data available. By Sarah Jane Kyle, Coloradoan - Read Full Article StopBullying.gov launched a new Bullying Prevention Online Course. The training provides guidance on how to take a public health approach to bullying prevention through the use of long-term, community-wide prevention strategies.
This is a self-study course and earning continuing education credit is available. Read more and take the course Depression can strike during the teen years, but too many U.S. teenagers with the illness are not getting proper follow-up care, a new study finds.
"These results raise concerns about the quality of care for adolescent depression," concluded a team led by Briannon O'Connor, who conducted the study while at New York University School of Medicine. One expert wasn't surprised by the findings. "Most adolescents who are depressed do not receive any treatment whatsoever for their impairments for many reasons, including lack of access to care, stigma, and a workplace shortage of trained child and adolescent psychiatrists," said Dr. Aaron Krasner, chief of the Adolescent Transitional Living Service at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Conn. As the study authors explained, major depression affects 12 percent of teens, and as many as 26 percent of young people experience at least mild depression. Prompt treatment is crucial because failure to relieve depression increases the risk of recurrent depression and more impaired functioning in the long term, the researchers said. By Healthfinder.gov - Read Full Article " Pregnant women and new mothers need more attention when it comes to screening for depression, according to recommendations issued Tuesday by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
The announcement follows similar recommendations in 2002 and 2009. What's new this time is the special shout-out for pregnant women and new moms. They need special recognition, the task force says, because of evidence showing that they can be accurately diagnosed and successfully treated, and because untreated depression harms not only the mother, but her child as well. The task force's recommendations for pre- and post-term moms appear in the current issue of JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association. They track with advice from other groups, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists." By Joanne Silberner, NPR - Read Full Article
Boston's NPR news station WBUR created a series on suicide.
The series examined suicide prevention efforts and profiled Massachusetts residents whose lives have been affected by suicide. To listen to the complete series, please click here. Series reported by Lynn Jolicoeur, WBUR News The Gun Shop Project helps firearm sellers spot potentially suicidal customers, but some employees question whether that should be in their job description.
Read Full Article - by Elizabeth Van Brocklin, The Trace "Between 2005 and 2012, age-adjusted mortality rates declined for all 10 leading causes of death in the United States—except for suicide. The rate of suicide increased from 10.9 per 100 000 in 2005 to 12.6 per 100 000 in 2012.1 Suicide accounted for 41 149 deaths in 2013, the latest year for which national data are available. In 2013, suicide was the second leading cause of death in 15- to 34-year-olds, claiming 11 226 lives in this age group.2 What is different about suicide, and why has there been so little progress in preventing it?
Suicide is intertwined with mental illness. People who have chronic mood disorders or psychosis are 10 to 20 times more likely to commit suicide than people without those disorders. Serious mental illnesses affect about 5% of the population but account for 47% to 74% of the population attributable risk (PAR) of suicide, according to a recent review of studies.3 However, despite substantial public investments in research on the etiology of mental illnesses over the last several decades, rates of onset and recovery have not improved, and the suicide rate has been steadily increasing in the United States." Read the full article in JAMA The holiday season is upon us and celebrating special occasions after a suicide loss can be difficult. They may bring up painful memories, but they can also provide an opportunity to honor your loved one.
Below are a few suggestions from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Anticipating the Event Can Be Harder than the Event Itself Know that worrying about the event in the time leading up to the event is often more difficult than the event itself. Communication is Important Friends and family need to know how to be supportive. If you find it comfortable to talk about your loved one, or would rather grieve in a private way, talk openly with them in advance so that everyone knows what to expect. It’s Okay to Take a Break If the event proves to be too much, talk a short walk. Make sure you have a way to leave early if you need to. Sometimes having an exit strategy can make you feel more at ease. Consider Traveling If you have friends or family living in a different city, consider visiting them – a change in scenery might be helpful. Keep Traditions, or Start New Ones If holding to longstanding traditions proves too painful, consider developing new family traditions. For example, if you used to cook holiday meals, instead make dinner into a potluck. Volunteering is a Great Way to Heal Look online for volunteering opportunities in your area. Many people find meaning in helping others, and it’s a great way to honor your loved one. Sometimes Special Occasions are Just Difficult Even without the loss of a loved one, occasions like holidays can be stressful. Do the best you can, and remember that healing takes time, and the experience is different for everyone. Take Care of Yourself Get enough sleep, eat well, don’t drink too much, and practice healthy self-care. See our 10 Things You Can Do for Yourself in the Aftermath of a Suicide Loss. For more information visit - AFSP |
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