Weekly News Roundup July 23 – 29, 2022
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Drug misuse and suicidal behaviour more common on the anniversary of a parent’s death – new research – The Conversation
July 29, 2022
New research has found that young people who have lost a parent were more likely to be admitted to hospital for substance use or suicidal behaviour around the anniversary of their parent’s death. In the year following the loss of a parent, the research also found that men were 200% more likely to exhibit suicidal behaviour. Women had no notable increase in suicidal behaviour. Researchers note, “Our research shows that there’s a clear need to support people who have lost parents around the time of loss – and that this support should also be given around the anniversary they lost a parent, possibly for many years. Providing the right kind of support – including grief counselling, help with alcohol and other drug-related problems and mental health help – will be essential for reducing harm among people who have lost a parent.”
More men (died by) suicide last year in Norway – ScienceNorway.no
July 29, 2022
**Language warning, use of the word ‘commit’** Norway’s 2021 suicide stats have just been released, showing that there were over 600 deaths by suicide in the country last year. “This is bad news and a long way from both ours and the government’s zero vision for suicide in Norway,” said Knut Harald Ulland, secretary general of Leve – the National Organization for the Suicide Bereaved. Almost 500 of the deaths were males, and Ulland says, “The fact that many people choose to take their own lives is due to complicated and complex factors, but right now we must focus on men. Boys and men must learn to talk about their feelings, preferably from an early age, although it is also possible to learn to do so in adulthood.” In 2020 the government introduced a suicide prevention action plan, the goal of which is a ‘zero vision’ for suicide.
Survey: 1 in 4 LGBTQ youth with high trauma tried suicide in 2021 – Axios
July 28, 2022
A recently released survey by The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ suicide prevention non-profit, found that 25% of LGBTQ young people with ‘high trauma’ symptoms reported attempting suicide in 2021. This is compared to 3% of LGBTQ young people with no symptoms of trauma and 9% with low or moderate symptoms. “We must consider the harm that discriminatory policies — and the ugly rhetoric surrounding them — can have when it comes to the potential for traumatizing LGBTQ youth,” said Myeshia Price, senior research scientist at The Trevor Project. “Experiences of discrimination, harassment, and violence against LGBTQ youth can contribute to trauma symptoms, which can include feeling scared, anxious, or unsafe in the world, often.”
Drawing on therapy developed to save soldiers, an app aims to prevent suicide in those at highest risk – Stat
July 27, 2022
A new app is being developed that trains people how to overcome suicidal impulses. The techniques taught in the app are modeled after those found to have most dramatically reduced suicide attempts in soldiers at high suicide risk (by nearly 60%) in in-person therapy contexts. “What people discover very quickly is that you can respond to really significant emotional upset just a little bit differently, and as a result, your urge or motivation to die is diminished significantly,” David Rudd, suicide researcher at Oui Therapeutics, the company that designed the app. “People can learn some really simple things that ultimately make a big difference.”
Ashley Judd says grieving mom Naomi’s death by suicide has been ‘exceedingly difficult for me’ – Yahoo! Entertainment
July 26, 2022
**Graphic method warning** Ashley Judd lost mother, singer Naomi Judd, 76, to suicide in April. She’s since opened up on the podcast ‘Healing’ about her grief journey. Judd said she had to work “to understand that her [mother’s] mental illness was a disease. I didn’t cause it, I couldn’t control it and I couldn’t cure it.” Judd talks about how important her family has been in her grief, “One of the things that I think we have done well as a family — meaning my pop, my sister Wynonna and me — is we have really given each other the dignity and the allowance to grieve in our individual and respective ways. And yet we’ve been able to completely stick together.”
Understanding the Physical Symptoms of Grief – Healthline
July 25, 2022
Grief can affect people physically and mentally. Grief shares symptoms with anxiety and depression, and people with a mood or anxiety disorder may experience a worsening of their symptoms. Anger, anxiety, helplessness, hopelessness and sadness can all be triggered by grief. An increased risk of suicide is also associated with grief, especially if the person grieving has lost a loved one to suicide.