When is Suicide Prevention Month? The month of September marks National Suicide Prevention Month. This is a period to remember those lost to suicide, the numerous individuals who have struggled with suicidal ideation, and acknowledge all those who have been affected, including individuals, families, and whole communities. Also, this is a time when different organizations, groups, and individuals raise awareness surrounding suicide prevention and share messages of hope and reminders that suicide is preventable. Read on to learn more about the significance of this dedicated month and how you can play an active role in supporting the cause and making a difference.
In September, the following are observed:
Suicide is a global issue and does not discriminate. It affects people from all walks of life, ages, and backgrounds. As such, suicide prevention is important all year round. The general goal of this month is to raise awareness about suicide prevention. However, the main objectives of this time include promoting stakeholder collaboration as well as self-empowerment to address self-harm and suicide through preventative action.
Suicide Prevention Month focuses on several key goals.
Many people with mental health issues would like to seek help but are afraid to be stigmatized. The fear of being judged or discriminated against is a barrier that often causes many individuals to suffer in silence.
This barrier can be tackled with the promotion of open discussions that relate to suicide and mental health. Also, you can remove barriers by encouraging people to seek out the assistance they need to ensure their optimal health and well-being.
Unfortunately, suicide is one of the main causes of death among adults and children. Alarmingly, suicide rates are climbing. Many people are unaware of this reality and its significant impact. Also, suicide Prevention Month serves to assist in educating the general public on the prevalence of suicide and the devastating consequences that it has on individuals, families, communities, and society as a whole.
Many people may not know that suicide is preventable. During National Suicide Prevention Month, various mental health institutions, organizations, and advocacy groups offer resources, support, and information that relates to mental health services and suicide prevention. Such resources are crucial for helping struggling individuals or those who want to assist a family member or friend with overcoming suicide ideation.
This time gives people the opportunity to not only remember but also honor the loved ones they have lost to suicide. This coincides with the promotion of suicide prevention and awareness.
The power of conversation is its ability to break down barriers, and it’s at the center of suicide prevention month. When you have open discussions about suicide, this can help to create a safer space for people to express their feelings and become brave enough to seek help. Several approaches that can help to contribute to effective conversations about suicide and suicidal feelings include:
You must show compassion and be a non-judgemental listener when an individual confides in you about suicidal thoughts or mental health struggles. Keep in mind that a listening ear is all that a struggling individual may need right then and there. Immediate advice or solution may often be secondary at that moment. Furthermore, in an article published in World Psychiatry, it's noted that when making mental health care decisions, listening and taking steps to accommodate patients can enhance treatment. This means that taking time to listen and understand the specific feelings and concerns of a person dealing with suicidal feelings is key for helping them manage them.
If your suspicions lead you to believe that a person is experiencing suicidal thoughts or showing related behaviors, encourage him or her to seek professional help. Be sure to provide the person with the resources and information on where to find this much-needed support.
What can sharing your personal story do for another individual? Sharing your story of triumph over your mental health challenges or a story of a family member or friend who has been lost to suicide can have a positive effect. First, it can help humanize mental health issues, and second, it can inspire other individuals to seek help or support to tackle the issue.
Many organizations provide support and mental health resources, working diligently to help prevent suicide. You can lend support through an organization by advocating for improving the mental health care system. You can do this by signing up for advocacy alerts, becoming proactive in your support when opportunities emerge in your community, becoming a volunteer, or making a donation that supports the work of these organizations.
Having a dedicated time each year in which you raise awareness keeps progress moving forward. The improvements can be in the areas of new and innovative therapies for the prevention of suicide and its causes as well.
Stigma in mental health care can be viewed through two lenses:
In the context of destigmatizing mental health, usually the focus is on self-stigma. The aim is typically to resolve the issue of persons who do not seek care because of their personal beliefs. It’s especially important to talk about mental health and normalize the conversations. This empowers individuals to have the often difficult but very necessary conversations that subsequently support people in seeking the assistance that they need.
If you do not talk about mental health, you are adding to the stigma. This can cause a lot of harm, including:
Here are some helpful tips for making mental health conversations a healthy part of your life:
Just like any other health issue that you talk to your healthcare provider about, it’s normal to talk to friends, family, and coworkers about seeing a therapist because you have feelings of depression. This helps to normalize the mental health conversation. Don’t shy away from it or feel embarrassed; instead, be direct when talking to family or friends. You strengthen the view that mental health is a taboo topic when you hesitate to talk about the issue.
For those with Adrenal Fatigue, the non-Addison's form of adrenal dysfunction, where your body's stress response is unable to keep up with life's chronic stressors, psychological issues can emerge. Chronic stress can result in an imbalance in the Neuroaffect Circuit (which comprises the brain, microbiome, and the autonomic nervous system) and can lead to symptoms such as anxiety and depression. People under chronic stress or exhibiting signs of Adrenal Fatigue should be encouraged to talk about their mental health, which could help prevent a crisis situation.
Conduct research on mental illness and share the information you find with other people. "Mental illness" isn't a single condition - it is an umbrella term that comprises many different mental, emotional, and physical states. There are various mental illnesses and each has its own set of symptoms and behaviors.
One of the benefits of sharing information about mental illness is that it helps to eliminate misconceptions that add to stigma. As such, educate yourself on the signs of suicide, as well as the symptoms of depression, and the serious impact that mental health illnesses can have on a person. After all, knowledge is power, and if you know the signs of suicide, you could end up saving a person’s life. Some of the signs include:
Still, the symptoms could be different from one person to the next. However, increasing your knowledge of mental health could help you prevent suicide.
The stigma around mental health conditions can be inadvertently worsened when they are used negatively as adjectives. Using the right language can help to prevent stigmatizing mental health.
Make a conscious attempt to choose the appropriate words to describe people, things, and behaviors that you associate with mental illness. Adopt a “person-first” or "person-centered" language approach where you strive to choose words that do not cause further harm by supporting stigma. The focus is placed on the individual and not on their diagnosis or disorder. According to Neuropsychopharmacology, "person-centered language reflects that the disorder or illness is only one aspect of a person’s life, not the defining characteristic."
If you are interested in playing a part in suicide prevention month, there are several things that you can consider doing to help the cause. These include:
Being open and honest about your mental health battle can inspire or make it easier for others to do so as well. Also, sometimes all someone needs is a jolt of courage or a story that resonates, showing that he or she is not alone in the struggle. One of the places that you can share your story is in the IDONTMIND Journal online. Reading your story may give an individual the courage to seek out help, which could be life-saving.
This Suicide Prevention Month you can volunteer your time and help provide support to people who are struggling with mental health issues. There are a couple of different ways to do this, including volunteering with Crisis Text Line or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Available 24/7, Crisis Text Line is managed by a team of volunteer Crisis Counselors, working remotely to answer texts from individuals in crisis. To become a volunteer, you’ll have to participate in a 30-hour, free training to prepare you to be able to help people who may feel hopeless.
Additionally, as a lifeline for countless people, the Suicide Prevention Lifeline assists in calming down people in crisis and works to keep them safe. It comprises a network of local crisis centers and trained volunteers who lend support to the individuals who call in for help. Furthermore, you can contact the local crisis center nearest to you and check to see if they have any volunteer opportunities available.
A powerful tool to connect with people, social media has a vast reach. As such, you can use social media to share messages with people worldwide at any time of the day, provide information that helps other people educate themselves, and help raise awareness of suicide. Whether it’s sharing personal experiences, links to useful resources, or the number of the suicide hotline, social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook can make a difference in suicide prevention. Something as simple as a hashtag can be encouraging.
Furthermore, you can start a whole mental health campaign by sharing uplifting messages on social media. This is a hassle-free and effective way to get involved in Suicide Prevention Month.
Fortunately, there are several means by which those in crisis can get support. Some of the resources available include:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a national network of over 150 local crisis centers that offer free and confidential emotional support 24/7 to those experiencing a suicidal crisis.
Contact information:
The Crisis Text Line is a free text messaging resource that offers 24/7 support to people in crisis.
Contact information:
The Trevor Project provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention to LGBTQ youth, made possible through its hotline, chat, and text features, as well as its online support center.
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The Veterans Crisis Line is a free, confidential resource comprising qualified responders from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Whether you are enrolled with the VA or not, you can still call, chat, or text.
Contact information:
For those in crisis who are hesitant to ask for assistance out loud, online networks and support groups are a great alternative. Some of the best-known resources that fall into this category include:
Available whenever needed, BetterHelp connects individuals with licensed, professional therapists online. This resource is available to people for a low, flat fee.
This virtual crisis center comprises volunteers who are trained in crisis intervention. These volunteers instant message anyone needing immediate support.
This online emotional support system offers free, anonymous, and confidential text chat with qualified listeners and online counselors and therapists.
Suicide and suicide prevention awareness does not end when the month of September comes to a close. Suicide remains an issue that affects millions of people and will impact many more people as time progresses. As such, it should not be an issue that only gets attention for a short period and then is put on the back burner. There must be continued effort throughout the year to address mental health issues and prevent self-harm. Ongoing advocacy beyond Suicide Prevention Month is critical to continue the effort to help prevent suicides and save lives.
There is a need to collectively continue working towards keeping suicide awareness and prevention in focus. Together, we should all work to reduce the stigma associated with mental health challenges and help prevent suicide. This involves collaborating to find solutions, empowering individuals by involving them in the decisions around their care and recovery, and keeping people in crisis connected so that they feel understood in their struggle and not isolated.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal ideation, do not hesitate to get immediate help. You are not alone in your struggle and help is available. If you or a family member or friend has undergone suicidal thoughts and plans, be sure to support your adrenals as the stress is immense on your system. We're here to support so call us at +1 (626) 571-1234 today!
Volkow, Nora D., et al. "Choosing Appropriate Language to Reduce the Stigma Around Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders." Neuropsychopharmacology: Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 46, no. 13, 2021, pp. 2230-2232. Neuropsychopharmacology, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-021-01069-4.
Swift, Joshua K., et al. "The Importance of Listening to Patient Preferences When Making Mental Health Care Decisions." World Psychiatry: Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), vol. 20, no. 3, 2021, pp. 316-317. World Psychiatry, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wps.20912.
The significance of Suicide Prevention Month is its dedication to remembering those lost to suicide and those still struggling with suicidal thoughts, acknowledging the affected, bringing awareness, and creating solutions towards the prevention of suicides.
