Suicide Prevention Month
September is Suicide Prevention Month and we wanted to create a safe space and a resource for our community. If you follow our founder on Instagram, you may have seen one of her recent posts, and if not, I wanted to start off here today with that:
As many of us know, depression is a deep, dark, scary monster who usually doesn’t ask permission before finding its way into our daily lives.
Resources
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is: 800-273-8255. We urge you to use this resource if you feel so inclined. However, we do want to acknowledge that sometimes resources like this do not fully encompass what we are yearning for. They can feel generic and impersonal at times, but they also have and continue to save lives. If you are feeling alone and do not have someone readily available to turn to, please use this resource.
Another resource of note is The Hidden Opponent. The Hidden Opponent was founded by Victoria Garrick to advocate, educate and support as an “accredited non-profit and advocacy group that raises awareness for student-athlete mental health and addresses the stigma within sports culture.” Victoria can also be found on “Real Pod,” which is where she is the catalyst for “deep conversations about mental health to relatable conversations about body-image, and social media, athletes, celebrities, entrepreneurs, and more pull back the curtain to reveal their raw and honest stories.”
Another favorite of our team is The Depression Project. The Depression Project was co-founded by two brothers from Australia, Danny and Matthew Baker, and they are “laser-focused on creating a world where every single person receives the support, care and can learn the strategies they need in order to beat their depression, and they won’t stop until this is a reality.” The beauty of The Depression Project is the education aspect for the family and friends of those suffering. This is an incredibly important piece of a mental health battle that is often overlooked. These are two incredible communities continuously advocating for mental health through healthy and productive channels.
If you are seeking more formal, professional help, we urge you to check out Better Help. Their mission is, “Making professional therapy accessible, affordable, and convenient — so anyone who struggles with life’s challenges can get help, anytime and anywhere.” Some statistics demonstrating their success are:
98% of users made significant progress
94% of users prefer BetterHelp over face‑to‑face therapy
70% of users reduced depression symptoms
Statistics
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US
2nd leading cause of death for ages 10-34
4th leading cause of death for ages 35-44
In 2019, 47,511 Americans died by suicide
In 2019, there were an estimated 1.38M suicide attempts
Among adults with a diagnosed mental health condition 43.8% did not receive mental health services in the past year.
The rate of suicide is highest in middle-aged white men.
In 2019, men died by suicide 3.63x as often as women.
On average, there are 130 suicides per day.
White males accounted for 69.38% of suicide deaths in 2019.
In 2019, firearms accounted for 50.39% of all suicide deaths.
90% of those who died by suicide had a diagnosable mental health condition at the time of their death.
What We Do
So, what do we do personally to help us out in our lowest of lows? Here are some tried and true outlets we reach for:
Drawing it out
This does not require masterful art skills, but rather helps you to articulate feelings you can’t quite put words to
Journaling
This one is for those who can articulate what they are feeling, but can’t see to make sense of their thoughts
Voice Notes
This helps to speak your truth out loud and allow yourself to express any feelings that may be lingering inside
Having company just be there
This is somewhat self-explanatory, but sometimes we don’t so much need a listening ear as we need simple, human presence
Meditation Apps
Danielle particularly reaches for the Insight Timer App “Shifting out of depression” playlist
Emergency Department
While this is not an outlet we have had to use at this time, we do feel it was of note that EDs anywhere in the world have a psychiatrist on call at your disposal when needed
Asking for help
This makes you so strong, especially when you are feeling weak. Having the courage to ask for the help you need is one of the bravest acts of service for yourself
Quotes that bring us hope
Keep fighting, we need you
Hold your darkness in your light
Don’t wait to drown, to learn how to swim
I also tend to post quite often about mental health myself, particularly suicide prevention, during this month. It is something I have true passion for and because of that I want to always offer myself as a resource. I may not always have the answers, but I do want to do my best to direct you to the proper channels and resources to find the answers you are searching for. You can some of those posts here on Instagram.