September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day.
Whenever I discuss suicide, I think it’s important to begin these conversations with some difficult information.
Suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States.
There were about 1.2 million suicide attempts in 2020.
Of those 1.2 million, 45,979 people died by suicide.
The suicide death rate increased by 33% from 1999 to 2019.
Wyoming reports having the highest rate of suicides in the United States.
Men, white adults, and LGBTQ+ individuals have the highest risks of attempting suicide.
Suicide is a topic that makes many uncomforatble, but is extremely prevalent in our communities and everyday lives. Thus, World Suicide Prevention Day is extremlely impactful and important.
Here are some ideas of what you can do to either celebrate or bring awareness to this day.
If you’ve attempted suicide or had suicidal thoughts in the past, I ask you to celebrate.
You’re here reading these words. You made it another day. Life can be hard, to say the least, but it’s even harder when ending your life has been a thought. So please go celebrate yourself for being here another day. Take yourself out to eat, go for a walk in the park, have some friends over for a movie-- make it your own, but do something to acknowledge yourself today.
If you know someone who died by suicide, I ask you to help me raise awareness.
Ask for awareness at work by contacting a local therapist to speak to your office about suicide facts and prevention
Post on social media about the importance of suicide prevention
Volunteer at your local crisis center
If you know someone who is currently having thoughts of suicide, I ask you to offer some support and encouragement.
Reach out to that person: simply ask how their day is going
Listen well: a skill we should be using in every conversation
Ask how you can help or if they’d like your help
Encourage them to seek help, if need be: try not to be too demanding or pushy
Last but not least, if you are reading this and actively having thoughts of suicide, please reach out for help. There are so many options, but one that you can start with is by calling 988 or texting GO to 741741.
I hope this short list of ideas encourages you to rethink mental health and suicide and be more active in preventing these attempts and deaths.
With love,
-Bri