Weekly News Roundup November 13 – 18, 2018
Hello Friends,
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:
Here’s how to better support people who are suicidal – Mashable
November 17, 2018
This article, written by Chirlane McCray, who is the “first lady of New York City” and leader of ThriveNYC, highlights the need for the attention brought to suicide on International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day, November 17. McCray talks about losing her cousin to suicide, and how in the 1960s and 70s, it was never openly discussed. She also talks about the efforts people are making to prevent suicides now, including training, education and awareness.
To Cope with My Father’s Suicide, I Had to Learn to Love My Grief – Glamour
November 17, 2018
In this article author Melissa Blake discusses her grief in the aftermath of her father’s suicide. “That’s the thing no one tells you about dealing with a loved one’s suicide: It doesn’t just leave you mourning for their life, it also leaves you mourning for your own. A part of me died that day too. It took me a long time to realize in the aftermath of suicide, you have to grieve not just for your loved one, but for yourself, too,” says Blake.
Facebook Increasingly Reliant on A.I. To Predict Suicide Risk – NPR
November 17, 2018
For one year, Facebook has been using AI to scan user accounts for warning signs that they might be thinking about suicide or self-harm. When the AI picks up on concerning language, including messages from friends like, “Please don’t do this,” or, “We really care about you,” Facebook staff are alerted and decide whether or not to contact local authorities. AI is also used to gather information about the user’s location so that staff are able to reach out to the correct authorities.
These jobs have highest suicide rates in the United States, according to the CDC – CNN
November 15, 2018
A report released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week has found that male construction and extraction workers have the highest rates of suicide in the US. Women who worked in arts, design, entertainment, sports and media had the highest suicide rates.
‘Huge sense of isolation:’ Learning to move on after the suicide of a loved one – Global
November 15, 2018
Joy Pavelich with CMHA Calgary talks about CMHA Calgary’s 14th Annual Survivors of Suicide Loss Day which happened on November 17, 2018. She also shares her own experience with suicide in dealing with the grief of losing her son, Eric.
Talent. A Football Scholarship. Then Crushing Depression – New York Times
November 15, 2018
*Method warning* This article tells the story of Isaiah Woods, a college football player who lives with depression and anxiety. Woods attempted suicide multiple times but is now on the path to recovery, thanks to the support of loved ones, therapy, and his love of football. “I’ll have to manage it for the rest of my life,” said Woods of his depression and anxiety. “You see, it doesn’t just go away like most people think.”
Gay Conversion Therapy Associated with Suicide Risk – Psychology Today
November 14, 2018
A new study published this month has found that sexual orientation conversion therapy during adolescence is associated with poor mental health outcomes.
Nearly 1 in 5 teens seriously considers suicide. Can schools offer relief? – PBS
November 13, 2018
Counsellors working in schools discuss mental health issues faced by students, and what is being done to support them in this NPR broadcast, which also includes clips of students talking about what they do when they’re struggling to cope.
Suicide risk increases in teens who knew murder victims – Medical Xpress
November 13, 2018
A new analysis of a 2014 survey has found that, in Allegheny County in the US, youth who lost friends or family to murder were 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than those who hadn’t.
Suicide shouldn’t be ‘normal’ in Indigenous communities, says 2018 Massey Lecturer Tanya Talaga – CBC
November 12, 2018
Tanya Talaga, an Ojibway woman, is delivering this year’s Massey Lectures. Last year, she was named the 2017-2018 Atkinson Fellow in Public Policy, which allowed her, as a journalist, to pursue a year-long investigation into a specific subject. She chose youth suicide, and is focusing in on Indigenous youth. Talaga believes that youth suicide is driven by the inequality facing Indigenous children from birth: “You have to have safe housing, you have to have a family that loves you, someone who tucks you in at night, to say to you,’You belong.’ You need nutritious food, you need access to an education, you need access to health care… And when you’re growing up in a community that’s missing all of these things, all these things that every other … non-Indigenous Canadian enjoys in urban and rural settings — suicide is there, suicide becomes normal.”
The connection between suicides and mass shootings — and a way to reduce both – Washington Post
November 12, 2018
This article discusses “Red flag laws” in the US, which allow a family member, roommate, partner, law enforcement officer, or medical professional to file a petition to ask that an individual’s home be temporarily cleared of firearms. This red flag law is applicable in 13 states, and allows those who are concerned about a person at suicide risk to have firearms removed from their home.