Friday night I heard a presentation about suicide facts by a professional counselor for Second Wind Fund of Metro Denver. In order to pass on this important information, I took a few notes. Before the age of 20, half of all people have suicidal thoughts. Sixty to seventy percent of those who die by suicide have a drug or alcohol addiction, leaving, of course, 40% of people who die by suicide without any drug or alcohol addictions. More people die from suicide than auto accidents. Colorado ranks 6th in the nation for suicide rate.
Most people who attempt suicide don’t really want to die. They want to be free of their suffering. The people who survived jumping off the golden gate bridge have all been interviewed and a common thread found between them is that they regretted jumping just after they did it.
There are many risk factors for suicide, covered more at length in my ebook Sad for No Reason. A very big risk factor is a feeling of hopelessness in a person’s life. Silence and secrets are toxic to people and they lead to a higher risk for suicide, too. When people start mentioning that the world would be better off without them, or that they’d like to end it all, no matter how flippantly, they need someone to listen to them. If you can’t personally hear their story, refer them to one of the national suicide help telephone lines like 1-800-SUICIDE. The speaker Katie Ford mentioned how important it is to refrain from judging or threatening a suicidal person. An incorrect way to speak to a depressed and/or suicidal person goes like this: “One more comment like that young lady and we’ll have you committed.” The correct way to address a depressed and/or suicidal person is with open ended questions, paraphrasing, and validating feelings. (NOT discounting feelings).
I really resonated with the speaker Katie Ford from Second Wind Fund when she began describing how in today’s society, dysfunctions of the brain are separated and marginalized in favor of body dysfunctions. For instance, if someone has a heart murmur, they can easily get proper medical attention and supplements or medications to correct the problem or keep it in check. However, if someone is suffering from moderate depression, or a brain dysfunction like an amino acid imbalance, they are more likely to be told to “get over it” than to get appropriate help. In this way, mental health has been separated and stigmatized from the rest of the health care field. Dysfunctions of the brain, when left unchecked, lead to mild, then moderate, then severe depression and even suicide.
Don’t be ashamed to seek help for yourself or a loved one if you’re affected by suicidal thoughts or depression. The Second Wind Fund helps get affordable mental health care to uninsured teens at risk for suicide. http://www.thesecondwindfund.org/
With today’s dietary influences of prepackaged convenience foods, high fat foods, foods fried in rancid oils, and non-foods offering no nutritive value, a large percentage of people are unknowingly suffering from brain dysfunction. Often, outside events perceived as negative are triggers to the underlying brain dysfunction. These can be hard to diagnose. I personally found some great books that offer personality quizzes to help you: Food & Mood by Elizabeth Somer, The Mood Cure by Julia Ross, and The UltraMind Solution by Mark Hyman.


Sad for No Reason ebook












