September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day and I, for one, am thankful. I’m thankful there’s a group called the International Association for Suicide Prevention that is out there promoting World Suicide Prevention Day. I’m thankful that an international group is taking the time to address this incredibly important subject.
Worldwide Suicide Statistics
I won’t bore you with pages of suicide statistics, but when you think about suicide prevention, consider this:
- Data from The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that 1 million people die every year of suicide worldwide
- There is one death by suicide every 40 seconds
- There are more people lost to suicide than to homicide and war combined
- Suicide ranks as the second leading cause of death worldwide among 15-19 year olds
- More than 100,000 adolescents die by suicide each year worldwide
- Highest rates of suicide are among those age 75 and older
- Up to 90% of people who take their own life have a psychiatric disorder
Suicide is a major problem in the mental illness community, to be sure, but suicide is really everyone’s problem as it’s estimated that there are 20 times the number of suicide attempts as there are suicide completions. If you haven’t been personally touched by suicide yet, you will be.
Suicide Prevention
But World Suicide Prevention Day isn’t about dwelling on the suicide statistics. World Suicide Prevention Day is about working on preventing those 1 million deaths. And as I’ve stated before, I believe suicide is entirely preventable and we, as a society should strive for a zero percent suicide rate.
How to Support World Suicide Prevention Day
So please, instead of just reading this, do something to show support for World Suicide Prevention Day. Tell someone you believe is at risk that you love them and want them to stay with you. Give them the number of a suicide hotline. Talk to your family members and bring this subject out into the light. You never know who you can help when you just talk about this subject that is normally shrouded in secrecy.
Other simple things you can do to support World Suicide Prevention Day:
- “Like” this post, “like” the International Association for Suicide Prevention site and say you’re attending on the official 2012 World Suicide Prevention Day Facebook event
- Put a support message on your social media profile
- Participate in an activity for World Suicide Prevention Day
- Put a banner on your website for World Suicide Prevention Day
- Encourage awareness and anti-stigma campaigns in schools, workplaces, the community and in the media
- Write a letter or make a video about how you feel about suicide or how it has touched you (if you would like to see one published here, read this)
- Light a candle in a window at 8 PM
No, not a single one of these things is going to change the world, but you would be surprised how much your voice can make a difference.
Here is an article containing links to all my suicide information articles – there are many. Please talk about these and share them in any way you think will help.
Banner image ribbon from here: PosOrgPsych13 / CC BY-SA.
If you have a right to own a gun then technically you also have a right to kill yourself. That is your choice, no matter what anyone says. It’s not my fault if they kill themselves. It was their choice? With this logic then it also goes to follow that no one should be able to take away your rights by hauling you off to a psych ward involuntarily and forcing you to take medication against your will. I say this since so many of you on this blog seem to think it’s discriminatory to prevent a person with a mental illness from owning a gun, even with the statistics being what they are
World suicide prevention day then becomes nothing more than lip service. An utter complete mockery…
I choreographed a short contemporary dance solo as tribute to the sept 10 World Anti Suicide Day.. I agree that every life is purposeful and worthy to be lived with meaning and joy. We need to help one another and in providing scial support.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0iNTDjHdJk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Preventing suicide? WHY?
Suicide is the ultimate expression of a person’s autonomy. [moderated]
Hi Andreas,
I respect your right to your opinion and I respect your right to express it, which is why I have allowed it here, but people who come here do not need a philosophical argument on a tragedy that many know much more about than you – having lived it themselves.
Moreover, many of the people here have tried suicide and are very glad to be alive and I will not have philosophical points somehow degrade that life-altering experience.
– Natasha Tracy