Search results for 'suicide'

Cheryl King, PhD
Institute for Human Adjustment, University of Michigan
National Network of Depression Centers

Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among 15-to-24-year olds, and youth suicide remains a challenging public health problem that is strongly linked with psychiatric disorders and other mental health issues.

Research shows that there are effective education, prevention, and treatment intervention strategies to address this problem. However, there are also barriers that prevent young people from receiving the kind of help that can make a difference.

Some Evidence for Effective Approaches
While it’s a challenge to gather evidence for strategies that address suicide prevention, research indicates that certain approaches lead to increased awareness of risk factors, more referrals to treatment for those at risk, and reduced suicidal thoughts. In some instances, the studies have been large enough to look at reduction in suicide attempts. But we can’t say we have data on treatments and interventions that are actually shown to reduce suicides in youth.

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Molly Jenkins
Mental Health Advocate

Today we continue our five part series on youth suicide prevention. Guest perspectives come from National Network of Depression Centers and Active Minds Inc., as well as personal stories from both a peer and family member. In today’s audio post, mental health advocate and suicide attempter Molly Jenkins shares why advocacy is so important in her life of wellness.

Why I Advocate for Better Suicide Prevention Programs

While a Junior in college, Molly Jenkins attempted suicide – twice...

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Alison Malmon
Founder and executive director of Active Minds Inc.

Today we continue our five part series on youth suicide prevention. Guest perspectives come from National Network of Depression Centers and Active Minds Inc., as well as personal stories from both a peer and family member. In today’s post Alison Malmon writes about the role peers and others play in preventing youth suicide on college campuses.

Speaking Out About Youth Suicide

At first glance, the 1,100 backpacks spread out across the campus quad or in the student union look puzzling. Walking through them, you notice that most have stories attached. Some have pictures. Signs reading, “Don’t be afraid to ask for help” and “Stigma is shame, shame causes silence, silence hurts us all,” poke out among the packs. Students quietly mill around, picking up the bags and reading the stories.

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William Coryell, MD
George Winokur Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine

Today we begin a five part series on youth suicide prevention. Guest perspectives come from National Network of Depression Centers and the Active Minds, Inc., as well as personal stories from both a peer and family member.

In the United States, someone dies from suicide every 13.7 minutes. As a physician, I understand that the vast majority of people who die by suicide have a mental disorder at the time of their deaths, and that both attempted and completed suicide take a great emotional toll on family members. As a research scientist, I recognize that studying the characteristics of individuals who attempt and complete suicide will help us better understand who is most at risk. This knowledge can empower clinicians, family members and peers to seek emergency care for those in need.

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CFYM Note: Throughout Care for Your Mind, we provide a platform for mental health care advocates to present their perspectives and proposals for change, with an implicit invitation for interested community members to contact those organizations for more information and opportunities to get involved. Today, we launch a new category of posts: the Mental Health Advocate Profile. Rather than being specific to a discrete issue, the Profile allows CFYM to show an organization’s broader range of advocacy interests and concerns. We’ll start off with a look at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, taking note of their Capitol Hill visiting day in June 2013.

Any organizations seeking to be featured in a CFYM Mental Health Advocate Profile should submit information about current legislative interests and activities to info@careforyourmind.org. We welcome your submissions!

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Families for Depression Awareness

For Mental Health Awareness Month, Families for Depression Awareness has launched #YouCareHelpShare, a campaign to provide education and encouragement to family caregivers. Through the distribution of caregiver education materials and a social media awareness campaign, we aim to help caregivers all across the U.S. get the support, information, and resources they need to be effective partners in care.

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Care for Your Mind covers a wide range of workplace issues, including topics such as time off and accommodations, creating a mentally healthy workplace, and suicide among different professions.

Mentally Healthy Workplace, Addressing Stigma

• Shift Workplace Culture, Help Break the Silence
• It’s Good Business to Support Mental Health in the Workplace
• Good Business Cents: Mental Health in the Workplace
• Business Two-for-One. Supporting the Mental Health of Employees Improves Profits
• Policy in Practice: How Companies Can Address Mental Health
• Six Resources for Workplace Mental Health
• How Ca...

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Care for Your Mind

For most people, Primary Care Providers are their most accessible health care professionals. PCPs (for example, general medicine or family physician, nurse practitioner) are the first line of care for a host of physical conditions and are frequently the first to diagnose and treat depression. Because PCPs are busy and not always attuned to mental health issues – especially as mental health disorders are often masked by physical complaints and discussion of concerns is stymied by stigma – it’s important for caregivers of people living with mood disorders to be educated about depression and prepared to advocate for the treatment that best fits their loved ones’ goals, preferences, and priorities.

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