suicide-prevention-project-blog

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posted this yesterday , but needed to be said.

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Did you guys know its Sunday was the first day of National Suicide Prevention Week and that yesterday was World Suicide Prevention Day?

Walking down the Golden Gate Bridge the other day reminded me that people’s struggles & problems are very real. Depression & mental health problems are very real. And as real as those things are, so is hope. So is love. 3000 people around the world die everyday from suicide, and for every death, there are at least 20 attempts. Depression is something that has such a bad stigma, especially within churches, that it is often overlooked, or at the very most just “prayed for harder.” The truth is, praying “harder” usually doesn’t work because most of the times the answer to those prayers are unwilling to spend time to talk to those in need. They don’t want to get involved in the dirty details that make life, life.

To those struggling, I want you all to know that hope is real. There is a God who really does care for you & people who are willing to much more than pray, but also listen & be there for you. You are not alone. To everyone else, hope is very real and most of the times, that hope is us. Be willing to listen, be willing to help, be willing to remind them that while problems are a part of life, by no means do they define it. Call up a friend who you know is struggling. Let them know that you are there for them.

If you guys need anything, my ask is always open, you guys are more than welcome to message me and I’ll give you my email and we can chat.  To Write Love on Her Arms is also an organization that brings awareness to mental health issues & help to those in need.

You guys are so loved, stay gold.

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Most people who are considering suicide will give clear warning signs.

-Signs of depression:

Unrelenting low mood

Pessimism

Hopelessness

Desperation

Anxiety and inner tension

Withdrawal

Sleep problems

-Increased alcohol or other substance abuse

-Recent impulsiveness (taking unnecessary risks)

-Expressing a wish to die

-Making a plan

Giving away possessions (especially prized ones)

Sudden or impulsive purchase of firearm

Obtaining other means, such as pills, poisons, etc.

-Expressing wishes through words

“I wish I was dead”

“Sorry I’m such a burden to you” “I won’t be a burden much longer”

“I have no reason to live”

“I feel trapped/hopeless/so much pain”

“It would be better if I wasn’t here”

“I want out”

“I’m so worthless/invisible/pathetic”

-Saying goodbye, making amends, making unexpected visits

Do not ignore these signs. It might be hard to tell if your friend is being “serious” but if they ever show any of these signs, talk to them about what they are feeling or what their thoughts are. Talking about suicide does not means that they are more likely to attempt. They may just be glad that someone finally took notice of them.

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Today is NOT your day. Take a step back and remember who you are and how much you are worth. We are here for you. We care.

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PSA for the Boston, Wakefield, South Shore, Central Mass Out of the Darkness Walks.

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“Lives Remembered, Lives Saved” A Candle Light Vigil sponsored by the Cincinnati Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

The Cincinnati Out of the Darkness Walk will be held on October 14, 2012 at McMicken Campus @ the Univ of Cincinnati.

Special Thanks to Emily Molina, Team Captain of Shannon’s Butterflies, for sharing these photos.

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edit as of wednesday, july 25th

note: i just went up to FIFTEEN followers!

you guys are awesome!

thank you

imhere-to-listenn.tumblr.com

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beautybehindthescars.tumblr.com

shivninja.tumblr.com

timetrav3l.tumblr.com

please remember, suicide is preventable! lessen the stigma, awareness is the first step towards prevention.

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Post 3

First off let me say thank you to all of the page's followers so far! In about 1 week I have already reached 10 followers which is a great achievement. I hope to continue to gain them.

Next, some housekeeping. The theme I had before was not the most user-friendly or easy on the eyes so after a lot of searching I have chosen a new one. I hope it works for all types of Internet browsers - Safari, Chrome, Explorer etc. If you have a problem seeing it please let me know.

And lastly, a little note about what has been going on with me lately. On Monday I attended an 8 hour suicide prevention training. It was meant for school administrators, guidance counselors, teachers etc but because I have been volunteering with NAMI I was allowed to attend. What an eye-opening experience. What I found most interesting was that I knew almost all of the information presented. It made me feel confident that my research has been extremely thorough. From the Risk Behavior Survey to the data charts from the medical examiner's office, I have it all!

What greatly concerned me was the lack of things that Bow seems to provide to kids that could be at risk for suicide. With suicide there are "risk factors" and "protective factors". Almost self-explanatory, the risk factors are things that make an individual at risk for suicide. Protective factors are "influences that make it less likely that individuals will develop a mental health problem" (as taken from the PPT presented during the training). The eye-opening experience for me was that while Bow seemed to have many of the risk factors, we had almost none of the protective factors.

In my grade, there is one specific group of boys that are known to be trouble-makers. As we went over risk factors, I recognized almost every single risk factor in one of these boys. In the bullets below I will give a risk factor that was given to us in the PPT followed by an example of how I believe this group of boys is at risk

Access to lethal means: many of these boys either hunt or have parents who hunt. This gives them access to guns, knives, etc

Stigma associated with help-seeking: being a high school boy it seems "weak" to want help for thoughts of depression or sadness, and they are expected to work through it themselves and never acknowledge they may be depressed.

Lack of access to help services: in my opinion, few if any of these boys have a trusted adult, group, or club that they could go to if they felt like they needed to talk.

Loss of family, friends, or idols to suicide: We lost Dalton in 8th grade to suicide, many of these boys were close friends with him.

Incarceration: A handful of this group of boys have been suspended (some multiple times) and even now many have been arrested.

This group of boys have been seen as trouble-makers, embarrassments, and nuisances. They are dealt with by practically trying to force them out of the community. Why has no one noticed these signs? While people see their arrests and suspensions as acts of rebellion, they may be cries for help. Acts of desperation. No matter what has happened in an individuals past it must be remembered that we are youth, youth who have experienced the death of a close friend by suicide and that are highly at risk ourselves. We are emotional, impressionable, and impulsive. I really want to talk to school authorities about this issue, try to possibly remind them that there can never be a lost cause.

Ok, so that ended up seeming more like a lecture than the moment of grave realization that it was when I first had it, but I ended up feeling so passionately that our school has been committing a wrongdoing against this group of boys that I guess I got a bit lecture-y. 

Continuing where I was before, I don't believe our school has enough protective factors. Some of the ones listed out in the PPT that should help are:

management of anxiety/stress

personalization/connection with teachers

family involvement

clubs/extra-curriculars where there are trusted adults

role models/mentors/advisors

peer to peer collaboration; being in a comfortable environment

For a community that suffered a devastating and tragic loss of a student who took his own life, it seems ridiculous and dangerous that our community doesn't purposely seek out ways to make youth feel comfortable to talk about suicide whenever they need to. We have guidance counselors that we are suppose to talk to if we feel anxious or stressed, but to be honest they are rarely available, even when you schedule a meeting. Many students do have connections with teachers, but usually if you are not a hardworking A/B student you don't. Family involvement is case-by-case. While Bow has many clubs and extra curricular activities, I myself don't know many where there is an adult I would feel comfortable talking to if I had feelings of suicide. We do have advisory twice a week but in such a public setting how is an individual expected to get the teacher alone to talk about their private and concerning feelings? Peer-to-peer collaboration is another case-by-case scenario.

As you can see, I believe that Bow is in need of more protective factors and I plan to try to get in contact with administration and see their perspective on what I believe is a problem.

I could write a post twice the size of this about my anger that Bow presented no Postvention when my grade lost our friend tragically in 8th grade, but my project is about prevention so maybe I will write about it another time.

I hope everyone's summer is going well, and thank you for your time in reading this!

-Byrie

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***TRIGGER WARNING***SUICIDE/MENTAL ILLNESS

Every 14.2 minutes someone in the United States dies by suicide.

Nearly 1,000,000 people make a suicide attempt every year.

If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at  1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Website: www.afsp.org Email: inquiry@afsp.org

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