Weekly News Roundup Dec. 16, 2023 – Jan. 5, 2024

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The Golden Gate Bridge now has suicide barriers. Why can’t B.C.’s Alex Fraser? – Global News
January 4, 2024
**Method warning** A suicide prevention net has just been completed on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and advocates, including Delta BC police chief Neil Dubord, the Delta Police Board and the City of Delta, are calling for barriers to be put up on the Alex Fraser Bridge in the Vancouver metropolitan area. A spokesperson for the transportation ministry says, “The Alex Fraser Bridge was not designed to safely accommodate tall safety fencing, as any additional barrier or fencing would create stress on the structure.” Dubord says, “(The Golden Gate Bridge is) significantly older than the Alex Fraser Bridge. They were able to find an engineering solution that actually will prevent people from dying on that bridge — I’m hopeful that, in time, we can be innovative and think of a solution for the Alex Fraser Bridge… Where there is a will there is a way. If there’s the political will to be able to move this forward I think there might be an engineering solution somewhere. I think the message to the province has to be the downstream impacts this has on families on health care, on other costs that are incurred as a result of these tragedies.”

Suicide-prevention net beneath Golden Gate Bridge completed, say officials – Guardian
January 4, 2024
The suicide prevention net at the Golden Gate Bridge has been completed after it began 10 years ago. “We are pleased to announce that, as of January 1, 2024, the Golden Gate Bridge now has a continuous physical suicide barrier installed the full length of the 1.7-mile span,” said Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, the public affairs director for the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, the entity that oversees the structure. “The net is already working as intended to save lives and deter people from coming to the bridge to harm themselves.” 95% of the bridge has netting, while the other 5%, where it was not possible to install netting, has tall barriers. Dayna Whitmer lost son, Matthew to suicide in 2007. Whitmer says she believes her son would have been deterred by the nets. Whitmer says, “A lot of people, when they’re that focused on a method, they don’t see anything else around them. And if they get to that point where they can’t do it, they kind of just throw their hands up and sort of walk away. And I’m thinking that’s something he would have done.”

The Continuing Miracle of Surviving Suicide – Psychology Today
January 4, 2024
This article is written by Terry Cheney, who lives with bipolar disorder and has attempted suicide multiple times. People with bipolar disorder have an increased risk of dying by and attempting suicide. Cheney says, “For me, outlasting four suicide attempts has led to a profound conviction that I must exist for a reason: to bear witness to the pain that nearly consumed me and affects so many others, and to make people understand, at a visceral level, that a bipolar diagnosis need not be a sentence of death. I’ve realized, finally, that I’m not meant to let go of this life I’ve been given, not yet. There’s more to come; my book isn’t finished. Word by word, line by line, page by page, the plot reveals itself. And I can’t wait to read what happens next.”

Mother who lost son to suicide now helps other parents going through loss – CBC
January 3, 2024
Bev Cadham lost son Shaymus Cadham-Higgins, 22, to suicide in 2017. Since Cadham-Higgins’ death, Cadham has been sharing her experience with suicide loss with others who have experienced similar losses. Cadham works for the Canadian Mental Health Association in Nova Scotia, and volunteers for Roots of Hope in Nova Scotia, a program of the Mental Health Commission of Canada and Nova Scotia Health. Cadham is part of the program’s storytellers group, which aims to raise awareness for suicide prevention. “There’s different types of loss,” Cadham said. “We lose our parents, we lose people through illness, we lose people for a variety of different reasons. Suicide is just kind of in a category of its own.” Her advice to parents who have lost a child to suicide is not to hide from their emotions. Cadham says, “Knowing that you can just sit in silence, in grief, or you can talk about it. It’s a unique journey and everybody has to move at their own pace.”

Why talking about suicide can prevent it – Farmer Guide
December 30, 2023
92% of farmers in the UK under the age of 40 say that mental health issues are the biggest hidden problem in the industry. The pressures of farming as a profession, including no separation from home and work life, financial anxiety, and the uncertainty of external factors such as climate and political policies, all play a role in contributing to the poor mental health of farmers. This article suggests farmers make time for breaks, speak kindly to themselves, plan hobbies away from the farm, prioritize sleep, and reach out to talk to someone when they’re struggling.

Death of ‘Parasite’ star puts spotlight on pressures facing South Korean celebrities – CNN
December 29, 2023
South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, 48, died in December of what police say is a suspected suicide. Lee is known for his role in the Academy Award-winning film ‘Parasite.’ South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and several Korean celebrities have died by suicide in recent years, including many K-Pop stars. Korean celebrities face immense pressure to succeed and it can be difficult for them to find time to access mental health care with their demanding schedules. Lee Gyu-tag, a professor of cultural studies at George Mason University Korea says that social media also plays a role, “I believe that the internet is also having an influence in imposing stricter moral standards on actors and singers in Korea. Whether they did drugs or committed illegal crimes, if it is not a serious mistake, they should be punished by law, and that’s it. But the public seem to think that people in the entertainment business deserve criticism or shameful comments on the internet.”

Have we been trying to prevent suicides wrongly all this time? – CBC
December 17, 2023
   New research from the University of Australia surveyed people who attempted suicide and found that on the day of a suicide attempt, people reported an increased sense that they were a burden on loved ones, and the day before, they felt an increased sense of hopelessness. Researchers say, “Key signals we identified as indicators of short-term risk of suicide – perceptions of burden or hopelessness – are often not matched by reality. While people may think they are a burden, their friends and family members disagree. Far from being burdened, those friends and family are the ones who struggle to know how and when to give the assistance they desperately want to provide. Likewise, a perception of hopelessness is often transient and doesn’t always reflect reality. So clinical staff can work with patients to help them re-evaluate these misguided beliefs, and to collaboratively develop coping strategies. For instance, a core belief of ‘I am a burden’ is replaced by ‘I wouldn’t think a loved one was a burden if they were suffering.’”