Weekly News Roundup Apr 30 – May 6, 2018
Every day we scan news headlines and social media for items of interest to the field of suicide prevention. Here’s what we found last week:
The coverage of Avicii’s death shows the wrong way to report on suicide – Vox
May 5, 2018
(Method warning)
This editorial essay discusses the irresponsible reporting of the suicide death of DJ Tim Bergling, aka Avicii, who died by suicide last month. Page Six mentioned means of suicide in its headline for the story, and so did TMZ. The writer of this editorial highlights the need for responsible media reporting – a best practice in suicide prevention – while recognizing the difficulty of monitoring the usage of guidelines as they apply to online news and social media.
Alberta suicide survivor sets up unique support group – Global
May 4, 2018
Suicide attempt survivor Wesley Jones struggled to find mental health supports and peer support in St. Albert after his suicide attempt at age 22. The lack of peer support in his community led him to create a suicide attempt survivors support group himself. “I think the biggest issues we know with people that attempt suicide are things like shame, guilt and feeling really alone — like nobody cares about you. I think just being with other people that can openly admit that they’ve attempted too, that’s really important. It’s like, ‘I’m not the only person that’s felt this bad,’” said Jones.
What NOT to stay to someone who’s lost a partner to suicide – The Good Men Project
May 3, 2018
This blog post was written by a survivor of suicide loss, who talks about what isn’t helpful to say to someone who has lost a loved one to suicide, namely, describing the person’s suicide as glamorous, or as an act of bravery or revenge.
Suicide is a leading cause of death for new moms but awareness is low – HuffPost
May 2, 2018
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for women in the postpartum period, and accounts for one in five postpartum deaths, yet little is being done policy-wise to help women during this period. “The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that hormones, emotional factors, fatigue and general life stressors can all play a major role in a woman’s chances of developing mental health issues.”
Inquiry offers opioid recommendations after Edmonton soldier’s suicide – CTV
May 1, 2018
Lt. Shawna Rogers died by suicide in 2012, after becoming dependent on opioids, then street drugs, after a back injury obtained during basic training. Provincial court Judge Susan Richardson, who conducted an inquiry into Rogers’ death, notes that there have now been changes to the way opioids are prescribed, and that their usage is now monitored. Richardson recommends that anyone who has been prescribed opioids, excluding cancer patients, should be educated about addiction and undergo regular psychological reviews.
5 ways you’re shaming mental illness and may not know it – HuffPost
May 1, 2018
This post discusses practical ways that the stigmatization of mental illness can be avoided. This includes paying attention to the use of language, and not using mental illness references as hyperbole, e.g. “I’m so OCD,” referring to someone as “psycho” or “crazy” and labeling someone based on their illness, such as saying “schizophrenic” instead of “a person with schizophrenia.”
Depression: A killing disease – Psychiatric Times
April 30, 2018
In this podcast, Dr. Charles Nemeroff, Director of the University of Miami Center on Aging and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at University of Miami talks about depression and its relationship to suicide. “Obviously, the symptom we worry about the most… is suicide. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. It’s the only one of the top 10 causes of death that are increasing in number. All the others, including stroke, cancer, heart disease, are decreasing in number.”