Loading tweets...This blog will be on hiatus for a bit more time. I have undergone major life changes since October 2010 and have been unable to focus on writing new material. Here are a few of my favorite LOP blog posts.
Blog Action Day
Affected by suicide?
Friday night I heard a presentation about suicide facts by Katie Ford, a licensed psychotherapist who works as a credentialed provider for The 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. 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 a neurotransmitter 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.
P.S. Sept 9- Look what I found as I was browsing my local PBS chapter web site: an article about Second Wind and their upcoming fundraiser: Rocky Mountain PBS, Teen Suicide Prevention.
Is it coincidence or luck?
I have been caught up in a whirlwind of activity that leaves little time for Twitter or Blogging. I’ve been so focused on arranging the details of moving my household and our family business this month and next that I haven’t written down any inspirations I’ve experienced. Last week I secured a new place to live, signed the lease, and started registering my older son in middle school. The new school promises to be a much, much better experience for him. Our new place of business will have parking for our mini-fleet of trucks and a very large office space all in one location. Our current office is separated from our parking yard by a quarter mile. Things should be better all around.
If I get too swept up in controlling all the details of a major life transition such as this and things don’t turn out as I want them to, I could become susceptible to depression and anger. Indeed, I’ve had my irritable days. Transitions are where my relationship to God and the Universe really gets highlighted. During times of change, it’s my job to take appropriate action to get where I need to be. It’s not my job to try to force a situation to become exactly as I wish. Tricky, huh? The details worked out for me not because I orchestrated the entire apartment hunt, but because I gave the details to God to work out. I was the one hitting the road and visiting about 10 different places to live, weighing pros and cons of each. When I felt overwhelmed and nervous, I went home and listened to Holosync and regained composure after an hour. When I didn’t know what to do, I handed the problem to God. This is a technique to release my worry, because worrying does me no good. Trusting in God or the Universe is difficult but it’s the only thing I can do that helps me sail through life calmly.
So it all worked out. I was accepted to the first apartment I applied for, they lowered the price of the unit during my “thinking” time and they made the move in special even less expensive, the unit itself overlooks a public park and tennis courts, I have a pool for the kids on site and best of all I finally have my master bathroom attached to the master bedroom. I think I’ve been wishing for one of those for over a decade. In regards to the business, my husband was the one to find a new unit that he was wishing he could have for about six months but it was occupied. The landlord promised to call us when the tenants moved out. As it happened, they moved out the very month our current business landlord wanted to give us a month’s notice to leave because another business wanted to take over the entire building where our office space was housed. The entire transition happened smoothly, without incident, though we’re still in the middle of it. Details like these can’t be forced! God takes care of it for us. Call it synchronicity, grace, coincidence, or luck if you like. I’m thanking God.
