Weekly News Roundup Mar 4 – 10, 2023
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Youth suicide attempts, ideation rose globally during pandemic, new Calgary study finds – CBC
March 10, 2023
A global study led by the University of Calgary has found that emergency room visits for suicide attempts by children and adolescents increased significantly during the pandemic. From the beginning of the pandemic to July 2021, visits rose by 22% compared to pre-pandemic rates, and there was an 8% increase in visits for young people experiencing suicide ideation (but who had not attempted suicide). The study looked at more than 11 million pediatric emergency department visits across 18 countries. Lead author Dr. Sheri Madigan says, “Without the provision of supports or intervention to help them through this difficult time, it tends to create greater distress amongst kids and sadly, potentially some kids then engage in some suicidal behaviour.” Centre for Suicide Prevention’s Robert Olson says, “Adolescents in particular — if they’re susceptible to mental health issues already, a lockdown kind of situation where you’re cut off from your peers, your normal activities, it would make someone who’s already vulnerable even more so.”
Related:
‘Kids are not alright,’ say authors of study on rise in pediatric suicide attempts during pandemic – Ottawa Citizen
Suicide attempts rose among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for girls – The Conversation
Disability the ‘stark’ face of England and Wales suicide statistics – BBC
March 10, 2023
The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) used a combination of 2011 census and death registration data to estimate suicides in England and Wales. They found that people with disabilities were most likely to die by suicide, and that those who had never worked, were unemployed long-term, were single, or had never been in a civil partnership or married were also impacted by suicide. Fazilet Hadi from Disability Rights UK said, “For disabled people, a lot of us do find ourselves living alone and a lot of us are unemployed. We know that when you cannot make ends meet, it really does put a pressure on you. It adds to your anxiety and mental health issues.” Jacqui Morrissey, Samaritans UK, said, “It is crucially important to remember that suicide is not inevitable. It is preventable, complex, and rarely caused by one single factor. We need to work with the disabled community to understand more about this and ensure the Government’s promised suicide prevention strategy comes with proper funding in order to tackle the inequalities highlighted.”
‘Kids are not alright,’ say authors of study on rise in pediatric suicide attempts during pandemic – Ottawa Citizen
March 9, 2023
A global study led by the University of Calgary has found that emergency room visits for suicide attempts by children and adolescents increased significantly during the pandemic. From the beginning of the pandemic to July 2021, visits rose by 22% compared to pre-pandemic rates, and there was an 8% increase in visits for young people experiencing suicide ideation (but who had not attempted suicide). The study looked at more than 11 million pediatric emergency department visits across 18 countries. Lead author Dr. Sheri Madigan says, “There’s been a debate during the pandemic as to whether the kids are alright or not alright. Now that more data have been published and analyzed, we can more precisely answer that question. The kids are, in fact, not alright.” She’s calling for more mental health resources, supports and services for youth “to help children shift from languishing to flourishing.”
Related: Suicide attempts rose among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for girls – The Conversation
More than 360 nurses attempted suicide in 2022, says charity – Nursing Times
March 9, 2023
The UK’s Laura Hyde Foundation (LHF) supports nurses and other emergency workers who are in crisis. They’ve recently released 2022 data regarding service usage, which found a significant increase over 2021 in nurses who attempted suicide. Liam Barnes, chair of the LHF says, “It’s clear that following Covid-19, the emergency services are facing a new type of pandemic around the mental health of their workforce. Our data shows that people are starting to process what they have seen and given some of the resource constraints across this sector, stress, burnout, anxiety and many more conditions are significantly heightened.”
BC Liberal MLA to pitch bill updating mental health law after VPD officer’s suicide – Global News
March 8, 2023
Following the suicide of Vancouver police officer Const. Nicole Chan, BC MLA Elenore Sturko is calling for changes to the Mental Health Act in BC. An inquest into Chan’s death revealed many recommendations affecting the Mental Health Act, and MLA Sturko is seeking to require doctors who are seeing patients admitted under the Mental Health Act to “take reasonable steps to consult a relative or another person with first-hand knowledge before making the decision to release someone who is in crisis and was admitted under the Mental Health Act,” which is not what happened in Chan’s case. “Doctors and nurse practitioners are doing what they can with the tools they have,” said MLA Sturko. “I’m trying to add another tool.”
Related:
B.C. Liberal MLA pushes for more suicide prevention tools – CBC
‘Please pass this bill’: Families voice support for legislative amendments intended to prevent suicide – CTV News
People who need people: Leveraging desire for connection to address suicide in autism – Spectrum News
March 7, 2023
This article explores the importance of social connection for people with autism. The ‘social motivation theory of autism’ has perpetuated the belief that people with autism are not interested in social interaction, however, according to this article, the theory lacks empirical support and recent findings show that people with autism instead have greater levels of desire and motivation to connect with others when compared to those without autism. The author of this article, Annabelle Mournet, Rutgers University, says, “Mounting evidence explains why autistic people may face increased social isolation and rejection even though they wish to remain socially connected and socially inclined. Accordingly, we must continue to deconstruct the misconception that autistic adults lack a desire for social connection. Rather, we ought to leverage their considerable desire for social connection to develop suicide interventions that promote social connection.”
10 Ways to Show Support After Learning of a Suicide – Psychology Today
March 4, 2023
This article explains how to respond when someone shares that they’ve lost a loved one to suicide. The article’s author, Barbara Greenberg, clinical psychologist, says, “If someone confides in you about a death by suicide, they clearly want your support. They are likely feeling devastated, shocked, and maybe even (unfairly) guilty that they didn’t see the ‘signs’ and prevent the death of someone they cared about greatly. Of course, professional help is often necessary but there is great value in the support and availability of a relative, friend, or colleague.”