September Is Suicide Prevention And Awareness Month

September is National Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month. Doctors and therapists want to remind everyone that it’s ok to seek help. During this month, many doctors offer free mental health evaluations and tips on how to seek help for those with depression and thoughts of suicide.

According to WTOK, one person in America commits suicide every 12 minutes. Adolescents frequently suffer from major depression. They are just as likely to commit suicide as adults in the U.S. are.

Many people in America struggle with depression. However, only one in every three people receives the treatment they need, which accounts for the rise in the suicide rates.

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Leigh Gillespie, a PRN with Family Counseling Services, agrees with the statistics.

“It’s the second leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults nationwide.”

Another FCS PRN, Erica Flake, offers a theory as to why adolescents are more prone to committing suicide.

“Adolescents are more at risk because as we get older we develop those coping skills.”

Gillespie and Flake say that most teens and young adults suffer from depression and thoughts of suicide because of bullying from their peers.

According to WNDU, renowned psychiatrist Dr. Reddy says that depression and suicide knows no bounds with age.

“So some of the early signs we see is they are kind of isolating themselves from friends and family, that kind of gives you a red flag. You know they are withdrawn, there’s big changes in the appetite, sometimes they lose a drastic amount of weight or gain drastically. Tiredness, fatigue for no reason and sometimes hopelessness”

NAMI says that it is critical to suicide prevention and mental health awareness to encourage loved ones to seek help. They believe that these issues should tended every single day. They consider National Suicide Prevention and Awareness month a time for people to come together as families and communities to be strong and battle suicide and depression. They encourage people to find more ways to take the fight to mental illness and raise awareness.

Gillespie says that people feeling alone is a major contributing factor to people committing suicide.

“A lot of times when someone is suicidal they feel alone. They feel like nobody understands. They feel like they’re the only one, but that is not true.”

Dr. Reddy recommends that whenever loved ones or teachers notice any symptoms in children and teens that indicate depression or thoughts of suicide, they should sit them down and speak to them. He says that many adolescents will consider suicide, and that talking is one of the first steps to suicide prevention.

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Professionals say that some of the other symptoms that people who are depressed or considering suicide might include disinterest in things they once loved, changes in sleeping or eating patterns, or self-isolation.

Gillespie adds some symptoms to that list, as well.

“Also, sometimes they give away possessions. Sometimes they write a note. Leave a will and start talking about death.”

NAMI says that, although thoughts of suicide are a common occurrence, they are not normal and should be addressed immediately. Many people hide their depression because they are embarrassed. Prevention and awareness for mental health and is crucial to saving those who do not feel they have anywhere to turn when considering suicide.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline asks that, if you know anyone who may be considering harming themselves or contemplating suicide, that you call either 911 or their own hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

[Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images]

September Is Suicide Prevention And Awareness Month is an article from: The Inquisitr News